If this six-week test flight goes well, the astronauts can return to the moon in a few years.
If this six-week test flight goes well, the astronauts can return to the moon in a few years.
Despite a series of lightning strikes on the launch pad, NASA’s new moon rocket remained on track to blast off Monday on a crucial test flight.
The 322-foot (98 m) Space Launch System rocket is the most powerful rocket ever built by NASA. It is set to send an empty crew capsule into lunar orbit half a century after NASA’s Apollo program, which landed 12 astronauts on the Moon.
If this six-week test flight goes well, the astronauts can return to the moon in a few years. However, NASA officials have warned that the risk is high and the flight could be shortened.
In lieu of astronauts, three test dummies are bundled into the Orion capsule to measure vibration, acceleration and radiation, one of the biggest threats to humans in deep space. There are over 1,000 sensors in the capsule alone.
Officials said Sunday that neither the rocket nor the capsule suffered any damage during Saturday’s thunderstorm; Ground equipment also remained unaffected. Five lightning strikes were confirmed when the rocket hit the surrounding 600-foot towers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The strike was not strong enough to warrant a large-scale re-test.
“Clearly, the system worked as designed,” said Jeff Spaulding, NASA’s senior test director.
More storms were expected. Although forecasters gave an 80 percent difference of acceptable weather on Monday morning, conditions were expected to worsen during the two-hour launch window.
On the technical side, Spaulding said the team did its best to eliminate any fuel leaks over the past several months. A pair of countdown tests earlier this year prompted repairs to leaking valves and other faulty equipment; Engineers won’t know if all the fixes are good until a few hours before the planned liftoff.
After so many years of delays and setbacks, the launch team was thrilled to finally be so close to the inaugural flight of the Artemis moon-exploration program, named after Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology.
“We are within 24 hours of launch right now, which is pretty surprising given where we are on this journey,” Spaulding told reporters.
The follow-on Artemis flight, due in early 2024, will see four astronauts fly around the Moon. A landing could follow in 2025. NASA is targeting the moon’s unexplored south pole, where a permanently shadowed crater is believed to hold ice that could be used by future crews.