The Orion spacecraft on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida has completed the first step of its lunar mission. Sent into space by a 97-meter-high SLS rocket, Orion started the first of the Artemis missions, which is Artemis I. Artemis missions will have 3 stages in total. SLS has great importance for NASA’s and mankind’s space missions away from Earth. Also, the launch was streamed on Youtube.
The launch was delayed three times
For those who missed it, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA was to make the first take-off with the US-based $ 24 billion Space Launch System, or SLS rocket model, in recent months, but the take-off was delayed due to engine problems. However, in the second attempt, a hydrogen leak prevented the take-off and bad weather conditions intervened. As part of the “test mission” called Artemis I, the take-off was finally made today (16 November) without any problems. Everyone working within the program took a big breath.
SLS is now on its way and the $20 billion Orion capsule is at the front of it. The capsule will not house any astronauts, instead, there will be mannequins equipped with sensors. The capsule will travel 2.1 million kilometers. The journey is expected to take about 42 days. It is calculated that the capsule will reach the Moon (386 thousand kilometers away) in about a week. Also, NASA informs that the Orion capsule to be launched with SLS is equipped with heat shields to withstand a temperature of 2,750 degrees. SLS is among the biggest studies of the organization in the recent period.
The Artemis I mission was designed to be uncrewed because it has exploration purposes. If the test mission is successful, NASA will send astronauts to the same flight path for the Artemis II mission. Then, possibly in 2025, Artemis III will attempt to send the first woman and the first person of color to the lunar surface in the first manned lunar landing in fifty years. NASA is also presumably looking to use Artemis missions to build a lunar base for long-term crewed missions. The Artemis I has an important role to play in the first astronaut mission to Mars in the late 2030s.
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