CAPE CANAVERAL, United States — Third time’s
the charm?
After two failed attempts,
NASA plans to launch its
new mega Moon rocket early Wednesday from Florida, less than a week after the
massive machine withstood a hurricane.
اضافة اعلان
“Our time is coming. And we hope that that is on
Wednesday,” said Mike Sarafin, the manager of the much-delayed Artemis 1
mission, at NASA headquarters.
The Artemis 1 mission, a test flight without
astronauts, represents the first step in the US space agency’s plan to build a
lasting presence on the Moon, and taking lessons from there to prepare for a
future voyage to Mars.
Named after the sister of
Apollo in Greek mythology,
the new space program comes 50 years after humans last set foot on lunar soil.
The first launch of the Space Launch System rocket,
the most powerful ever designed by NASA, is set for Wednesday at 1:04am local
time, with a possible launch window of two hours.
Countdown has already begun at the storied Kennedy
Space Center, where the orange and white behemoth awaits its maiden flight.
The takeoff is scheduled less than a week after the
passage of Hurricane Nicole, which the rocket endured outside on its launch
pad.
For now, officials are evaluating the risk
associated with hurricane damage to a thin strip of caulk-like material called
RTV, which encircles the Orion crew capsule atop the rocket, and makes it more
aerodynamic.
Teams are looking at whether the RTV could shake
loose during launch and pose problems.
Two backup dates are possible if needed, on November
19 and 25.
The weather promises to be mild, with a 90 percent chance
of favorable conditions during the launch window.
At the end of September, the rocket had to be
wheeled back to its assembly building to be sheltered from another hurricane,
Ian.
Before these weather setbacks, two launch attempts
had to be canceled for technical reasons.
The first failure was related to a faulty sensor,
and the second to a fuel leak when filling the rocket’s tanks. It runs on
ultra-cold, ultra-volatile liquid oxygen and hydrogen.
NASA has since replaced a seal and modified its
procedures to avoid thermal shock as much as possible.
Tank-filling is now due to begin Tuesday afternoon.
About 100,000 people are expected on the coast to
watch the launch, with the rocket promising to light up the night sky.
The Orion capsule will be lifted by two boosters and
four powerful engines under the core stage, which will detach after only a few
minutes.
After a final push from the upper stage, the capsule
will be well on its way, taking several days to reach its destination.
Rather than landing on the Moon, it will assume a
distant orbit, venturing 64,000km beyond the far side — further than any other
habitable spacecraft so far.
Finally, Orion will embark on the return leg of its
journey. When passing through the atmosphere, the capsule’s heat shield will
need to withstand a temperature half as hot as the Sun’s surface.
If takeoff happens Wednesday, the mission would last
25 and a half days in all, with a splashdown in the
Pacific Ocean on December
11.
NASA will have invested more than $90 billion in its
new lunar program by the end of 2025, according to a public audit.
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