NASA livestreams the rocket that will carry four astronauts around the moon – Slashdot

‘There will be a mega rocket that will take astronauts around the moon for the first time in decades taken to its launch pad”, the BBC reported this morning.NASA is streaming their action live of the £11 million ‘stack’ – which includes the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and attached Orion spacecraft, all standing on the mobile launch pad. At a speed of less than 1 mile per hour, the move is expected to take 12 hours.

The mission – which could start as early as February 6 – is expected to last ten days. It is part of a broader plan aimed at this returning astronauts to the moon’s surface.

In addition to the rocket having to be ready, the moon also has to be in the right place, so the successive launch windows are selected accordingly. In practice, this means one week at the beginning of each month during which the rocket is pointed in the right direction, followed by three weeks during which there are no launch opportunities. The possible launch dates are:

— February 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 BR> — March 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11 BR> — April 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6

‘The four-man crew will travel further than the far side of the moon, which could set a new record for the furthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth, currently held by Apollo 13’ reports CNN:

But why won’t Artemis II land on the moon’s surface? “The short answer is it doesn’t have that. This is not a lunar lander,” said Patty Casas Horn, deputy chief for Mission Analysis and Integrated Assessments at NASA. “Throughout NASA’s history, everything we do has been a little bit risky, and so we want to make sure that that risk makes sense, and only accept the risk that we have to accept, within reason. So we build out a capability, then we test it out, then we build out a capability, then we test it. And we’ll land on the moon, but Artemis II is really about the crew…”

The upcoming flight will mark the first time humans will be aboard the Artemis spacecraft: the Orion capsule will carry the astronauts around the moon, and the SLS rocket will launch Orion into orbit before the crew heads deeper into space… The mission will begin with two orbits around Earth, before the translunar injection begins – the maneuver that will lift the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and towards the moon – approximately 26 hours into the flight, Horn said. “That’s when we get ready for the big fire – it takes about six minutes. And once we’ve done this, you’re on your way back to Earth. There’s nothing else you need to do. You’re going to pass by the moon, and the moon’s gravity will pull you around and swing you back to Earth….” Avoiding going into lunar orbit keeps the mission profile simpler, allowing the crew to focus on other tasks because there’s no need to pilot the spacecraft in any way.

“The first planned lunar lander of the Artemis program is called the Starship HLS, or Human Landing System, and is currently being developed by SpaceX…”