CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission will attempt a launch again.
Mission managers met on Monday (November 14) to discuss Artemis 1’s flight readiness Space launch system (SLS) missile and Orion spacecraft After minor damage caused by Hurricane Nicole, which was quickly downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall, Thursday (November 10). Despite the fact that there is a set of buffer dam on Orion Damaged by strong winds During the storm’s descent, “There is no change in our plan for the launch attempt on the 16th,” Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said during a teleconference today (November 14).
Jeremy Parsons, deputy director of NASA’s Earth Exploration Systems Program, added Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. If all goes according to plan during additional preflight checks and the cryogenic fueling process on Tuesday (November 15), then Artemis mission 1 It will lift off from Launch Pad 39B at 1:04 AM EDT (0604 GMT) on November 16. You can watch the refueling and countdown Artemis 1 launch live online here On Space.com with permission from NASA.
Related: Watch the November 16 launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 moon rocket online for free
Read more: NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission: live updates
One major area of interest was the insulating caulking tape known as RTV which was designed to smooth a slight gap in the exterior of the Orion spacecraft. High winds during Hurricane Nicole stripped a 10-foot (3 m) section of the RTV station off Orion. after discovering the damageThere were concerns that the missing dam could lead to unwanted airflow that could lead to overheating during launch and flight. After reviewing the problem and performing multiple analyses, Artemis 1 Mission managers feel the car is still airworthy.
“We looked across the entire vehicle stack from the Orion spacecraft all the way to the base of the stack and agreed that the risk is constrained by the current risk and risk reports we have there,” Sarafin told reporters.
“However, if we had an issue occur that would cause us to meet one of our prohibited criteria, it may not be our day,” Sarafin added.
However, Parsons added that while there was still a chance that mission managers would discover issues that would prevent a launch attempt on Wednesday (Nov. Far from the many setbacks of the mission.
“And I’ll tell you, the team is firing on all cylinders at this point, and so I can’t be proud of them. Because I think if you asked me a couple of weeks ago, would we go through a storm like Hurricane Nicole and then be able to turn around and clear the car and be in good shape,” Parsons said. Good, I was going to say hey, maybe the chances are low. But this team has been firing on all cylinders.”
Artemis 1 will see the launch of an uncrewed Orion spacecraft atop the SLS vehicle into lunar orbit. The mission is intended to lay the groundwork for future Artemis missions that will see humanity return to the Moon with the ultimate goal of establishing a sustainable human presence there.
Artemis 2 will see a human crew in lunar orbit no later than 2023, while Artemis 3, scheduled for 2024 or 2025, will see astronauts leave shoeprints on the lunar surface again.
Follow Brett on Twitter at @employee (Opens in a new tab). Follow us on Twitter @employee (Opens in a new tab) or on Facebook (Opens in a new tab).
“Beer fan. Travel specialist. Amateur alcohol scholar. Bacon trailblazer. Music fanatic.”