The massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft will be transported to the launch pad on March 17, with a planned launch at the end of May this year.
Engineers dismantling the support structure around the spacecraft. (Photo: NASA)
NASA engineers have begun dismantling the support structure around the first Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the Artemis mission that aims to travel to the Moon. The dismantling at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida is a crucial step to ensure the rocket and spacecraft are safely transported to the launch pad on March 17, ahead of the Artemis 1 mission, scheduled for May.
The uncrewed Artemis 1 mission will send the Orion spacecraft on a flyby around the Moon to ensure that both the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft are ready for future crewed flights. Artemis 2, the first crewed Artemis mission, is set to take astronauts on a lunar flyby in 2024, assuming everything goes according to plan. Artemis 3 aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface as early as 2025.
The current focus for NASA is Artemis 1. On March 2, NASA announced that they are actively preparing to get the SLS and Orion ready for flight. Engineering teams will continue to install equipment on the twin solid rocket boosters of the SLS inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC. Such sensors will allow engineers to guide the rocket and spacecraft through virtual technology on the 6.5-kilometer journey to Launch Complex 39B and monitor the mission’s progress as the vehicles prepare for launch. Once at the launch pad, the SLS – Orion assembly will transmit data about various systems, including the rocket, spacecraft, and ground deployment mechanisms. Fueling and other activities at the launch pad will also be documented.
The SLS – Orion assembly will need to undergo a wet dress rehearsal. According to the schedule, this test will take place two weeks after the rocket and spacecraft arrive at the launch pad. If successful, Artemis will be the first program to return humans to the Moon since the Apollo astronauts landed there between 1969 and 1972.
