NASA Announces New Launch Date For Artemis I

Artemis I: NASA completes tests and prepares for a third launch

NASA Concludes Tests on the
Artemis I rocket and is ready for launch

The teams will evaluate the test
data, along with weather and other factors, before confirming they are ready to
proceed to the next launch opportunity.

The mission’s SLS rocket has
successfully completed a crucial evaluation to give the green light for a new
liftoff attempt, despite yet another fuel leak.

NASA concluded this Wednesday at
the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, United States, a series of tests on the
SLS rocket of the Unmanned Mission Artemis I, having fulfilled all the
objectives set and despite the discovery of a leak of liquid hydrogen.

There were many hours of testing
and stress, after the two cancellations that the Artemis I mission had to
launch, but yesterday it successfully completed the critical fueling test
without serious failures. That is why NASA is considering September 27 as the target
date for the launch.

Teams have concluded today’s cryogenic test for the #Artemis I mission to the Moon. All objectives were met during the test. The team will begin to evaluate the data, along with weather and other factors, to confirm readiness for a Sept. 27 launch attempt: https://t.co/vfcQxX7IQg pic.twitter.com/89nlG4X5cQ

— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) September 21, 2022

Artemis I launch director Charlie
Blackwell-Thompson confirmed that all objectives for the cryogenic
demonstration test were met, and teams are now proceeding with critical safety
activities and preparations to drain the rocket’s tanks. After finding a
hydrogen leak in a cavity in the tail service mast umbilical early in the
loading process, engineers were able to fix the problem and proceed with
planned activities.

The four main objectives of the
cryogenic demonstration included evaluating the repair to address the hydrogen
leak identified in the previous launch attempt, loading propellants into the
rocket’s tanks using new procedures, performing the startup purge, and
performing a pre-pressurization test.

NASA manages October 2 as the
second launch date and in that case the Orion spacecraft would return on
November 11, with a launch window of 109 minutes that would open at 2:52 p.m.
(18:52 GMT).

The first launch attempt of
Artemis I took place on August 29, but was canceled due to a failure in one of
the 4 RS-25 engines of the powerful SLS rocket, which is 98 meters high.

That was followed by a second
attempt on September 3, suspended due to a liquid hydrogen leak.

The objective of the first
Artemis mission is to test the capabilities of the SLS and the Orion spacecraft
before a manned voyage originally scheduled for 2024, to be followed by a third
in which for the first time since 1972 American astronauts, including a woman
and a person of color, will step on the lunar surface.