One potential Artemis launch date nixed
ORLANDO, Fla. — NASA is pushing back a test of fixes on the launch pad for Artemis I to later in September, which has taken one potential launch date off the board.
NASA announced late Monday it would delay the cryogenic tanking test to make sure the feed lines that run from the mobile launcher into the massive Space Launch System rocket no longer leak. That test will now be no earlier than Sept. 21, pushed four days from the original plans.
The delay means that a launch on Sept. 23 is off the table, but plans are still in play to shoot for Sept. 27 while also looking at an opportunity for Oct. 2.
Artemis I is the first in a series of flights that aim to return humans to the lunar surface and pave the way for humans to land on Mars. The uncrewed mission looks to send the Orion spacecraft to orbit the moon several times on a multi-week journey before splashing down in the Pacific
Ocean. The flight is meant to make sure the capsule can withstand the nearly 5,000 degrees generated from what would be the fastest-ever return of a human-rated spacecraft to Earth coming in at 24,500 mph. That would pave the way for a crewed Artemis II flight to orbit the moon in 2024 and then Artemis III as early as 2025 during which two astronauts including the first woman would return to the moon’s surface for the first time since 1972.
If they do get the opportunity to launch, the Tuesday, Sept. 27 chance would be a 70-minute window that opens at 11:37 a.m. that would fly on a 40-day mission that would land back on Earth on Nov. 5. The Sunday, Oct. 2 chance would have a 109-minute window that opens at 2:52 p.m. and fly for a 41-day mission and land on Nov. 11.
The Artemis attempt will mark NASA’s third try to get this mission off the ground after scrubs on Aug. 29 and Sept. 3. The most recent scrub came after a leak did not allow NASA to fill the core stage of SLS with the 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen needed along with the 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen that will along with two solid rocket boosters give SLS 8.8 million pounds of thrust on liftoff.
Smaller liquid hydrogen leaks were present during the first launch attempt as well as during two wet dress rehearsals earlier this year. After the most recent gremlin, NASA chose to perform fixes at the launch pad so they could use cryogenic fuel to make sure it will work on launch day.