NASA sets its sights on new launch window for Artemis I
After a string of stumbles and delays, NASA is hoping to get its hotly anticipated Artemis I launch back on track, working toward a new window for liftoff.
NASA applied for a waiver needed to fire off Artemis I for the first time on an unmanned voyage to the moon between Sept. 23 and Sept. 27, the space agency announced. A hydrogen leak on the system previously delayed the launch earlier this month.
ARTEMIS I: WHERE DO THINGS STAND NOW?
Officials applied for a waiver from the Space Force to extend the flight-termination battery requirement, which is paramount to launching Artemis I during the September window, Jim Free, NASA’s associate administrator, explained during a briefing Thursday. NASA previously attained an extension for the battery requirement from 20 to 25 days, which lasted until Tuesday, the Washington Post reported. Its new waiver will reportedly cover about 40 days, per the outlet.
NASA will “stand down and look for our next launch attempt” if the agency concludes the batteries need to be reset, Free noted.
NEW: NASA is going to attempt the September 23 – September 27 launch window for the Artemis I launch.
Still requires a waiver from the range. If the waiver is denied, they’ll have to rollback to the VAB, pushing in into October. pic.twitter.com/nsZYxWEWoN
— Ricky Matthews (@WAVY_RickyM) September 8, 2022
Artemis I is meant to be a test of systems that NASA plans to use to send humans to the moon. This includes assessing the durability of the Orion spacecraft, which is designed to have human passengers, during spaceflight. This mission is supposed to last upwards of 37 days and orbit the moon for just shy of a week to amass data.
A launch on Sept. 23 would occur during the twilight hours of the morning, while a launch on the 27th would occur later in the morning, according to a list of possible launch times from Spaceflight Now.
Here are the launch dates and times NASA has available in the next launch period — Launch Period 26 — for the Artemis 1 moon mission, which runs from Sept. 19 through Oct. 4.
NASA hasn’t yet decided on a timeframe for the next launch attempt.https://t.co/J3lGTTJQF3 pic.twitter.com/bjbUgOZoLS
— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) September 3, 2022
A bad sensor reading prompted a delay of the previously planned Aug. 29 launch. Then, a hydrogen leak “an interface between the liquid hydrogen fuel feed line and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket” stifled the Sept. 3 attempt, officials said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The launch of Artemis I will mark the first major space test of NASA’s super heavy-lift Space Launch System.
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