SLS

In February, Space Explored interviewed five incredible members of NASA and Jacobs who were critical to the Artemis 1 mission, the maiden flight for NASA’s next-generation moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), and Orion spacecraft.

Teams have assembled the main structures of NASA’s Artemis 2 Core Stage at New Orleans Michoud Assembly Facility, another step closer to getting the rocket ready for launch.

Earlier this month, NASA moved the SLS engine section for Artemis 3 into the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This comes as a distinct change from previous SLS core stages like the recently flown Artemis 1 and Artemis 2, which are still being assembled at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. The biggest questions arising from this change are what NASA’s plan for Artemis 3 is and onwards and what stirred this sudden change.

That’s right! While Artemis 1 is an important mission for the return of humanity to the Moon, everyone back here on Earth has the opportunity to participate by sending messages to an iPad that resides within the Orion spacecraft. A camera will capture the message on the iPad within the capsule and share the recording, so while sending your message beyond the Moon you can spread it to other people here on Earth. And sending your message is really simple. Here’s how.

NASA’s SLS rocket is the most powerful rocket the agency has every built. It should be no surprise that the two five-segment SRBs and four RS-25 engines left behind a bit of damage at the pad. Yesterday, NASA shared some of the first photos showing the Mobile Launcher, and the damage it sustained, up close.

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket may have taken flight early Wednesday morning, but as with most missions, the rocket launch is only the start of it! The Orion spacecraft is on a journey to the Moon and back, proving all the systems ahead of humans stepping aboard the spacecraft on Artemis II. Here’s how you can follow with this historic mission and track Orion on its journey.

Artemis 1 is a historic mission, the first flight of the SLS rocket that will return humans to the Moon. For now, the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft are uncrewed, as this test mission will fly around the Moon and prove the systems that will carry humans in a few years time.

In a recent blog post, NASA Stennis announced the arrival of a new component for testing. The interstage test article will be used when it comes time for the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) to undergo its own green run test, just like the Space Launch System’s Core Stage did last year

After years of waiting, the first launch of NASA’s new moon rocket, which will bring humans to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo program, is finally approaching. At the start of September, NASA’s most powerful rocket to ever fly will lift off from the Florida Space Coast, kicking off a new era of spaceflight.

Monday’s high-profile scrub of the Artemis 1 launch had caused division within the launch media community. The decision to go through with a launch attempt versus completing a full wet dress rehearsal has some attacking NASA for wasting time and resources.

In a press briefing Tuesday, NASA managers announced that September 3 would be the next launch attempt of the Artemis 1 mission. The managers also discussed what the team is doing to resolve the problems found during Monday morning’s countdown.

On August 29, NASA worked its way through the countdown for the first launch attempt of the SLS rocket with the Artemis 1 mission. A few issues delayed the count, and ultimately led to the teams scrubbing the launch. So when will NASA attempt to launch their most powerful rocket?

While the hype was real for today’s historic launch attempt of Artemis 1, today was just not the day. Unfortunately, we don’t yet know the severity of the issues that eventually put the nail in the coffin for today’s launch, but we should hopefully know soon.

After years of work, SLS sits on LC-39B ahead of its maiden flight on Artemis 1. The launch, set for the morning of August 29, will certainly be beautiful, but the rocket has already provided some brilliant views on its journey to the launch pad.

Isn’t that a nice headline to finally write? Artemis I (knock on wood) took its final rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B. With less than two weeks until the launch date, the feeling is real that it might happen.

Today, NASA’s latest Moon rocket, SLS, will be rolling to the launchpad. After the sun sets, the crawler will begin to carry the rocket over out to LC-39B, and the rocket is scheduled to launch for the Artemis I on the morning of August 29 for an uncrewed flight around the Moon.

The launch of Artemis I has been a long-anticipated (and delayed) event. At last, the rocket is nearing its launch. With barely more than two weeks until the planned launch, the rocket is now set to head for the launchpad on Tuesday evening.

Update: As of July 20, NASA says it is holding three placeholder dates for possible launch targets: August 29 between 8:33 a.m. and 10:33 a.m. ET, September 2 between 12:48 p.m. and 2:48 p.m. ET, and September 5 between 5:12 p.m. and 6:42 p.m. ET. Mission duration would be 42 days, 39 days, and 42 days, respectively.

NASA conducted its fourth wet dress rehearsal attempt for its Space Launch System rocket this week, completing a critical trial run at fueling the rocket mostly without issue. Officials were uncertain one day after the test if the Moon rocket would require another round of fueling. The agency has since communicated that it intends to launch SLS as early as last August without a fifth go at working out the kinks during fueling.

In an interview with the German publication Der Spiegel, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson discussed the question many have been asking for a while. Why doesn’t NASA ditch SLS and replace it with SpaceX’s cheaper and more capable Starship rocket?

NASA completed the wet dress rehearsal of its Space Launch System rocket Monday from start to (almost) finish for the first time. It wasn’t without some hiccups, but this is a major milestone to fuel up all four tanks on the rocket before launch.