The clock is ticking to the Artemis 1 moon mission launch on Aug. 29.
By Tariq Malik published about 6 hours ago
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The countdown is on for NASA's biggest test flight of the year.
At 10:23 a.m. EDT (1423 GMT) today (Aug. 27), the countdown clock began ticking down to the planned launch of NASA's Artemis 1 mission, an ambitious first flight to the moon by the agency's most powerful rocket ever — the Space Launch System (SLS) — and its Orion spacecraft. The uncrewed test flight is scheduled to launch Monday (Aug. 29) at 8:33 a.m. EDT (1233 GMT) from Pad 39B here at the Kennedy Space Center.
"This first launch is another step in the blueprint of our sustainable exploration of the solar system," Jim Free, NASA's associate administrator for exploration systems development, told reporters here in a briefing Friday. You can watch the Artemis 1 moon mission launch live online, courtesy of NASA TV. A live webcast will begin Monday at 6:30 a.m. EDT (1030 GMT).
... The mission flight will send an uncrewed Orion capsule on a 42-day trip to orbit the moon and return to Earth to test if the spacecraft is ready to carry astronauts.
... During the two-day countdown for Artemis 1, NASA launch controllers will put the mission's 322-foot-tall (98 meters) Space Launch System megarocket and its Orion spacecraft through their final paces for flight. Engineers closed the hatch on the Orion capsule for the last time on Thursday (Aug. 25).
On Friday, engineers also closed the hatch on the SLS rocket's launch abort system, which sits atop the Orion spacecraft, and retracted the crew access arm astronauts will eventually use to board the spacecraft for future missions.
NASA will begin fueling the SLS rocket in the wee hours Monday morning, which NASA will webcast live at 12 a.m. EDT (0400 GMT).
By Tariq Malik published about 6 hours ago
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The countdown is on for NASA's biggest test flight of the year.
At 10:23 a.m. EDT (1423 GMT) today (Aug. 27), the countdown clock began ticking down to the planned launch of NASA's Artemis 1 mission, an ambitious first flight to the moon by the agency's most powerful rocket ever — the Space Launch System (SLS) — and its Orion spacecraft. The uncrewed test flight is scheduled to launch Monday (Aug. 29) at 8:33 a.m. EDT (1233 GMT) from Pad 39B here at the Kennedy Space Center.
"This first launch is another step in the blueprint of our sustainable exploration of the solar system," Jim Free, NASA's associate administrator for exploration systems development, told reporters here in a briefing Friday. You can watch the Artemis 1 moon mission launch live online, courtesy of NASA TV. A live webcast will begin Monday at 6:30 a.m. EDT (1030 GMT).
... The mission flight will send an uncrewed Orion capsule on a 42-day trip to orbit the moon and return to Earth to test if the spacecraft is ready to carry astronauts.
... During the two-day countdown for Artemis 1, NASA launch controllers will put the mission's 322-foot-tall (98 meters) Space Launch System megarocket and its Orion spacecraft through their final paces for flight. Engineers closed the hatch on the Orion capsule for the last time on Thursday (Aug. 25).
On Friday, engineers also closed the hatch on the SLS rocket's launch abort system, which sits atop the Orion spacecraft, and retracted the crew access arm astronauts will eventually use to board the spacecraft for future missions.
NASA will begin fueling the SLS rocket in the wee hours Monday morning, which NASA will webcast live at 12 a.m. EDT (0400 GMT).
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