NASA Sets New Artemis I Launch Date
NASA will soon have another opportunity to send Artemis I to space. Tuesday, the space agency announced it will begin preparations to get the SLS and Orion space capsule that make up the mission ready to launch later this week. During an afternoon media session, officials said the two-hour launch window for the first Artemis mission will begin at 2:17 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, September 3rd.
It'll be the second attempt at launching Artemis I after an engine failure earlier in the week caused an indefinite postponement.
Teams have reviewed the data from Monday's launch attempt of the #Artemis I mission and are moving forward with a second launch attempt on Sat., Sept. 3, with a two-hour launch window starting at 2:17 p.m. EDT (18:17 UTC). pic.twitter.com/oDr5plGhqS
— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) August 30, 2022
"The combination of not being able to get engine three chilled down and then the vent valve issue that they saw ... caused us to pause today," mission manager Mike Sarafin said after the launch was waved off (via CBS News). "The team was tired at the end of the day, and we just decided that it was best to knock it off and to reconvene tomorrow."
"Launch controllers condition the engines by increasing pressure on the core stage tanks to bleed some of the cryogenic propellant to the engines to get them to the proper temperature range to start them," NASA officials added in a statement. "Engine 3 is not properly being conditioned through the bleed process, and engineers are troubleshooting."
Once out of the Earth's atmosphere, the Orion capsule and SLS are set to separate, sending the former on a 42-day test flight around the moon. Artemis I is set to be an uncrewed mission while Artemis II will feature a crew on a similar flight path. Artemis III, currently scheduled to launch in 2025, will then return America to the lunar surfaced for the first time since 1972.
As with all rocket launches, the Artemis I launch is dependent on weather. The forecast for Merritt Island—where the Kennedy Space Center is located—appears clear this early in advance.