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After several delays, NASA will launch its Artemis 1 spacecraft on Wednesday, the first step in preparations for returning humans to the moon in a reimagining of the space program that captured the world’s attention a half century ago.
Artemis 1, which will send an uncrewed Orion capsule into lunar orbit using a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, is scheduled to lift off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center during a two-hour window that starts at 1:04 a.m. Eastern time.
Future astronauts and other curious Earthlings have several options for watching the blastoff and learning more about the mission and its $4.1 billion rocket and spacecraft. Viewing of the fueling of the rocket begins as early as Tuesday afternoon (see full details below).
NASA had scrubbed several earlier scheduled launches after an engine problem created fuel leaks for the rocket and after Hurricane Ian hit Florida in late September.
“I feel good headed into this attempt on the 16th,” Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager at NASA headquarters in Washington, said during a recent press briefing.
The Artemis 1 mission will last about 26 days if the launch goes as planned on Wednesday. (Different launch dates lead to different mission durations, thanks to orbital dynamics.) There’s a 90% chance of good weather on Wednesday, NASA says, but if Artemis 1 can’t launch on that day, NASA has backup dates of Nov. 19 and Nov. 25.
The NASA team was focused on a thin strip of caulking called RTV that encircles the Orion capsule in order to smooth out a small indentation that could potentially cause some unwanted circulation and heating of air during flight, Sarafin said, according to a NASA posting.
Hurricane Nicole tore some of that caulking loose when it hit Florida’s Space Coast earlier this month, mission team members said. If any of the RTV comes loose during liftoff, it could create a debris hazard for the SLS, Sarafin said. The team is still examining the nature and severity of this risk.
“We need to just spend a little more time to review our flight rationale headed into this launch attempt, specifically as it pertains to liberation of any remaining RTV and debris transport,” Sarafin said.
The Artemis 1 mission is a 1.3-million-mile (2.1-million-kilometer) trip to the moon, past the moon and then back again. This journey will be crucial to get the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft ready for moon missions crewed by humans later in the decade, NASA says.
Together the systems will not only provide valuable testing for human crews, but they will also carry humanoid and robotic passengers for scientific purposes and to foster public interest in the program, noted Elizabeth Howell, a staff writer for the spaceflight channel Space.com. Because the Artemis 1 mission is uncrewed, a plush Snoopy will provide a zero-gravity indicator to show the team on the ground when the spacecraft reaches weightlessness, NASA explained.
Related: How NASA’s Artemis moon landing with astronauts works
The SLS rocket — the largest rocket ever made — is the centerpiece of NASA’s Artemis program and the modern equivalent of the Saturn 5 that took U.S. astronauts to the moon as part of the Apollo program more than 50 years ago.
This launch is the first of three Artemis missions on the schedule, with Artemis 2 slated to take four crew members into space in 2024, and Artemis 3 due to take two astronauts to the lunar surface in 2025 or later.
Private-sector space missions have ramped up as well, with mixed results to date, including Amazon.com
AMZN,
CEO Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin.
Here’s when and how to watch Artemis 1
Viewers can watch Artemis 1 lift off on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV, with live event coverage of the countdown and launch. The NASA mobile app and the agency’s official website will also show the launch. Broadcasting of prelaunch activities starts on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern, when the agency begins the SLS’s cryogenic fueling process.
Space junkies interested in the very early prep can tune in to NASA YouTube, which will also feature replays.
A live broadcast will include celebrity appearances by actors Jack Black, Chris Evans and Keke Palmer, as well as a performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Josh Groban and Herbie Hancock. Then the Philadelphia Orchestra, featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma and conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, will play “America the Beautiful.”
The launch livestream will follow starting on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.
NASA is hosting a series of webcasts leading up to the uncrewed Artemis 1 launch, which will mark the first test flight of the SLS megarocket with its Orion spacecraft.
NASA then plans to host a webcast to highlight the first trajectory maneuver to send the Artemis 1’s Orion beyond Earth orbit and off to the Moon. The time of this coverage may change depending on the launch time of the Artemis 1 mission, but it is currently set for Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
The last major Artemis 1 launch-day event will be when the Orion spacecraft beams its first views of Earth from space. That is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Nov. 16. Like the outbound trajectory maneuver, the timing of this broadcast is subject to change depending on the exact launch time and the health of the Orion spacecraft.
The Artemis program, which aims to eventually land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon, has a dedicated Twitter account at @NASAArtemis. You can also follow the events there.
