What you need to know
- The Artemis I lunar orbit mission is scheduled to launch Monday at 8:33 a.m. ET from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
- The 42-day or longer mission will be highlighted by lunar orbit, taking the unmanned Orion spacecraft 280,000 miles beyond Earth.
- Orion is scheduled to take off on October 10 after traveling 1.3 million miles.
A crucial test flight that will provide a glimpse into NASA’s new era of space travel begins Monday with what should be a stunning morning rocket launch off the coast of Florida.
From there, critical moments and flight maneuvers will determine success The mission of Artemis I It is the first real step towards the first manned moon landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Here is a timeline of the main events that will follow the launch of Artemis I on a lunar orbit flight and the return of the Orion spacecraft to Earth.
First flight day: Take off at 8:33 a.m.
The giant 30-story rocket will produce a maximum of 8.8 million pounds of thrust upon launch Monday morning from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA says this represents more energy than any rocket ever seen.
Weather permitting, the launch is scheduled for 8:33 a.m. ET.
8:35 a.m. Critical moments after the takeover
Follow a precisely timed series of events in the next approximately eight-minute window.
Solid rocket boosters will be separated, followed by removal of the service module liner and launch abort system. The main engine of the 212-foot central zone will be shut down before it also separates from the spacecraft.
This graphic shows key moments after the launch of the Artemis I mission. Credit: NASA
Earth’s gravity will pull the rocket all the time, requiring the launch system’s engine to burn 735,000 gallons of liquid fuel to generate two million pounds of thrust as it escapes to the edge of space.
Once their work is done, the solid rocket boosters and the base stage will simply return to Earth.
Solar panels will be deployed to generate power for Orion.
10:11 a.m. Time to set up a training course to the moon
Gemini will be 100 miles above Earth and will still accelerate to more than 17,500 mph, but it will still need more energy to reach the Moon. Once in low Earth orbit, its next major step is Translunar Injection (TLI), a maneuver that will propel it 280,000 miles behind Earth and 40,000 miles behind the Moon.
This is further than any spacecraft capable of manned flight has gone. The maneuver begins with a 24,750-pound thrust blast from the top of the rocket that will allow Orion to enter the moon’s gravity.
This rocket stage will separate and deploy 10 small CubeSat satellites to help study the moon or travel deep into space before it burns up during orbit around the sun.
The spacecraft will travel to the Moon over the next few days.
Flying Day 6-9: Moon orbit
Orion did just that, carrying its payload into lunar orbit. The closest approach to the moon will be on the night of September 3, after 9 p.m.
On September 8, Flight Day 11, Orion is ready to make history. It is set to exceed the record distance set by Apollo 13 of 248,655 miles behind Earth by about 30,000 miles, reaching its farthest distance from Earth on September 23.
Flight Day 35-42: Flight back to Earth and the dashboard
Orion begins its journey to Earth on October 3.
Orion is due to rain on October 10 just before noon on the East Coast. In addition, the spacecraft will rush toward Earth at 24,000 miles per hour before landing easily in the Pacific Ocean near California.
HOW DO I FOLLOW THE ARTEMIS MISSION?
You can go through the 42-day, three-hour task with NASA’s Artemis Twitter account.
NASA will also provide coverage within its scope YouTube channel. NASA offers several other methods Real-time task tracking.
Will ARTEMIS 1 have a crew?
Not unless you count the three NASA-appointed Monikins for the mission, which are noteworthy.
The dolls will be in the same astronaut suit that future Artemis crews will wear and will contain sensors that measure vibrations and space radiation.
One of the ‘moonikins’ Moonikin Campos is named in honor of Arturo Campos, who was a key figure in the safe return of Apollo 13 to Earth. You can follow their adventures over here in a humorous manner.
Why is NASA heading to the moon?
The Artemis I mission is the first test flight of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion, the technology suite that will eventually send astronauts to the Moon.
Artemis II will send Orion and his crew farther than people have traveled from Earth.
Artemis III aims for the first manned moon landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The schedule for those missions largely depends on how things go with Artemis I.
The expeditions, named after the goddess of the moon and twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology, serve as the starting point for an eventual manned mission to Mars.
This story was published on NBCLA, Telemundo 52’s sister network. To read the article in English you can go to the following Link.
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