7 Things You Need To Know About Monday’s Most Impressive NASA Launch Since The Space Shuttle
With wildflowers surrounding the view, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Moon rocket – carried atop … [+]
If everything goes to plan then Monday, August 29, 2022 will see the most impressive rocket launch ever.
A two-hour window opens at 8:33 a.m. EDT that day for the debut launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, NASA’s most powerful rocket ever that’s been development for over a decade.
The Artemis-1 mission will see SLS take NASA’s Orion crew module and the European Space Agency’s European Service Module (ESM) to the Moon and back in a long-duration mission like no other.
The only thing missing will be humans on this uncrewed test flight, but there’s still a lot to get excited about. Here’s everything you need to know about Artemis-1:
1. It will launch atop the most powerful rocket since 1973
At 8.8 million pounds (3.9 million kg) of thrust, SLS is the most powerful rocket in the world to launch since NASA’s final Saturn V “Moon rocket” took the Skylab space station into Earth orbit in 1973. It’s arguably the most important flight for NASA since the first space Shuttle launch on April 12, 1981.
The SLS is controversial because it is so expensive. It’s often compared unfavorably to to SpaceX’s Starship, which NASA has actually committed to using as a lunar landing vehicle for the Artemis-3 mission in 2025. SpaceX claims that Starship will be more powerful, but it hasn’t yet successfully flown. The development of SLS began in 2014 long before Starship. NASA and SpaceX are in partnership. It’s not a contest.
2. Snoopy will be in charge of weightlessness
The famous cartoon dog is going to space. We’ll know when the Orion spacecraft reaches space because a small Snoopy doll—dressed in a NASA jumpsuit, of course—will float in front of interior cameras. This won’t be Snoopy’s first trip to space, having orbited Earth in a Space Shuttle in 1990. Also onboard is a Shaun the Sheep doll, a veteran of multiple parabolic flights.
During the Artemis-1 mission the Orion spacecraft will get close to the Moon’s surface and attempt a … [+]
3. We’ll see ‘Moon selfies’ and a new ‘Earthrise’
After launch the spacecraft will enter a low-Earth orbit before the rocket’s upper stage fires to take it into a translunar orbit. A few days later it will perform a flyby of the Moon. Thanks to the Orion spacecraft’s plethora of cameras on its spider-like solar array expect a bunch of selfies and—almost inevitably—a new version of the famous “Earthrise” captured by Apollo astronauts.
4. It’s taking Moon rock back to the Moon
When the Orion spacecraft gets to the Moon it will be carrying a lot of mementos for educational engagement and posterity in its “Official Flight Kit.” Perhaps the most bizarre is a small Moon rock from Apollo 11 that also was aboard the final space shuttle flight in 2011. It will also fly an Apollo 8 commemorative medallion, a bolt from the Apollo 11 mission and a patch from Apollo 11.
5. An asteroid-chaser will hitch a ride
Among dozens of experiments and ride-share “CubeSats” on the launch will be NEA Scout, a shoebox-sized satellite that will travel by solar sail to a near-Earth asteroid and take high resolution photos. The target is 2020 GE, a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) discovered in 2020 that is less than 60 feet/18 meters in size.
Asteroids smaller than 330 feet/100 meters across have never been explored up close before. Objects like 2020 GE are common and can pose a hazard to our planet despite their small size.
NEA Scout is composed of a small, shoebox-sized CubeSat (top left) and a thin, aluminum-coated solar … [+]
6. If its launch gets delayed it’s a four-day wait
If the launch is scrubbed on Monday, August 29, 2022 the next launch dates are Friday, September 2 and Monday, September 5. Blame eclipses. The solar-powered Orion spacecraft’s trajectory must not take it through the path of an eclipse—the shadow of the Moon—for more than 90 minutes otherwise it will completely lose power. After September 5 the next launch window is September 19, 2022.
7. Orion will fly farther away than any Apollo mission
In 1970, Apollo 13 got to 280,000 miles/450,000 kilometers from Earth while carrying three astronauts (Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise)—the record for humans. Orion will use lunar gravity to gain speed and propel itself 40,000 miles /64,000 kilometers beyond the Moon—about 30,000 miles /48,000 kilometers) farther than Apollo 13. A repeat of Artemis-1 though with a shorter duration, Artemis-2 (scheduled for 2024) will see a crew of three astronauts reach that same distance from Earth.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
