NASA: next Artemis 1 mission launch date set for September 23
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (WAFF) - NASA announced Thursday the date of its next attempt at an Artemis I mission launch.
In today’s teleconference, officials confirmed the next targeted launch window for the SLS rocket launch will open on Friday, September 23 at 5:47 a.m. central time. The window is open for 80 minutes that morning. Splashdown for this window would take place on October 18.
The backup plan if this launch date isn’t successful is slated for September 27.
The launch for the Artemis I was originally scheduled on Aug. 29. It was scrubbed and rescheduled for Saturday, Sept. 3, before being scrubbed a second time.
“The complexity of this rocket is daunting when you put it all in the focus of a countdown,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said following the first launch scrub.
“Understand that scrubs are just a part of this program. Over 36 years ago, we scrubbed four times in a month. It would not have been a good day if we would have launched on any of the days of those scrubs.”
“Once we got through the propellent loading, they started the engine bleed,“ Artemis Mission Manager Mike Sarafin said. “We knew that this was a risk going in to the process. We did encounter an issue when cooling down engine 3.”
“When the team started working through that, they also found an issue with a vent valve. Between those two issues, we decided to pause today.”
The Mission Management team will meet on Tuesday at 2 p.m. central time to evaluate the mission’s next steps.
“Our launch team was really pushed today,” NASA Exploration Development Director Jim Free commented. “This experience will help us in future windows.”
Artemis I will be the first integrated test of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center.
During this mission, engineers at the Huntsville Engineering Support Center will monitor real-time camera, time and temperature data directly from the SLS rocket. SLS Imagery Engineer Beth St. Peters spoke to Liz Hurley about her role.
Gina Benitez was live from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center during the original launch window as Huntsville prepared for a packed watch party.
Liz Hurley spoke with NBC’s Lester holt last week about the Artemis I launch.
More videos on the scheduled launch:
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