After several delays, the duo of rockets and spacecraft for the Artemis 1 mission lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center at 1:48 PM on November 16 (Hanoi time).
The two vehicles of the Artemis I mission include the Orion spacecraft, positioned atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which was transported to the launch pad on November 4. This marks the fourth time this duo has been on the launch pad.
The first two attempts occurred in March and June to test fuel loading before launch, while the third attempt in mid-August aimed for a space launch but was postponed due to a liquid hydrogen leak and engine overheating. The duo was returned to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center at the end of September to avoid Hurricane Ian, followed by maintenance, repairs, and minor testing.
The Orion spacecraft launching into lunar orbit atop the SLS rocket. (Photo: NASA).
The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft are two of the core components in NASA’s plan to return humans to the Moon. The SLS is the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built, weighing approximately 2,500 tons and standing nearly 100 meters tall. Meanwhile, the Orion spacecraft weighs 23 tons and has a diameter of 5 meters.
Artemis I is the inaugural mission of NASA’s Artemis program aimed at establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon. In this planned 42-day mission, the uncrewed Orion spacecraft will launch into lunar orbit using the SLS rocket, then fly around the Moon before returning to Earth.
The primary objective of the mission is to demonstrate that both vehicles are ready to begin launching astronauts to the Moon and other deep space destinations.
Artemis I will also deploy Cubesat satellites and conduct a series of scientific experiments to analyze the lunar surface and study how space radiation affects cellular life.
According to the roadmap, the Artemis lunar exploration program is divided into three phases. If all goes well, following the uncrewed Artemis I mission, Artemis II will send astronauts around the Moon around 2024, and astronauts will land on the lunar surface in 2025 during Artemis III.
