NASA's Artemis 1 Moon Test Launch Thread

[ProudModerate2]

The Artemis I rocket will not have its third launch attempt on Tuesday (Sept 27) as planned due to concerns over Tropical Storm Ian making its way toward Cuba and Florida.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/24/world/nasa-artemis-i-launch-delay-scn/index.html

[Frodo]

At least we don't have to worry so much about hurricanes at this late date:

Next Artemis 1 launch attempt on schedule for mid-November

[politicallefty]

I definitely prefer night launches.

[Person Man]

I definitely prefer night launches.

If it fails, it will be the most expensive firework show ever, right?

[Frodo]

I knew I should have kept quiet.  What was that saying about chicken eggs hatching, again?  

New tropical threat on course for Bahamas, storm-weary Florida

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Artemis 1 will surely launch in december then, right?

Major hurricane in December: lol, lmao

[emailking]

I think 2005 was the last time we had multiple major storms in December & Jan. Hopefully December will work out if this thing doesn't turn.

[Frodo]

I think they are going ahead with the Wednesday launch of Artemis 1:

NASA sticks with Artemis I launch despite minor damage from Hurricane Nicole

[Frodo]

The launch is scheduled between 1am and 3am (EST) tomorrow morning:

https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1592623226466680832

[Frodo]

You can even watch it live:

-----------------------------

And if you want to just cut to the launch itself:

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Artemis 1 is supposed to return to Earth on December 11, the 50th anniversary of Apollo 17 landing on the moon, which was the last mission where humans had left low Earth orbit. Humans are supposed to finally leave low Earth orbit again in 2024 with Artemis 2 and land on the moon again in 2025 with Artemis 3.

Just think of what the world was like 50 years ago.
The Internet was an obscure network involving a handful of universities run by the military
Cellphones were some obscure analog device that didn't work many places.
The personal computer hadn't been invented yet
Watergate seemed to be some low level scandal
The entire computing power of NASA was less than a standard cellphone today.
Some Senator-elect named Joe Biden just had his wife and daughter die in a car accident

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

4 1/2 minutes left.

[emailking]

Looks like it was a successful launch. I watched it on youtube.

[politicallefty]

I can't wait until Artemis 2 and beyond.

[Dr. MB]

So you can launch a rocket but can’t wire up a mic?

[Person Man]

Wish we could have a stickied space thread somewhere.

[Dani Rose]

If there's one single thing I can give to Trump, it's the renewed interest in space travel. Stuff like this excites me a very, very normal amount, and I cannot wait to see NASA rightfully beat Bezos and Musk to renewed space exploration.

[Frodo]

An excellent update and synopsis:

[emailking]

The Orion captured an incredible image of the Earth peeking out from behind the moon.

https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/email/newsletter/_1160x652_crop_center-center_82_line/orion-earth-moon.jpg

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

I somehow just happened to open the Youtube live feed for the launch, without even knowing it was happening that night, like 5 seconds before it took off. Pretty epic, won't lie.

[Frodo]

Artemis 1 is on its way home after beating a half-century record by reaching the farthest ever distance from Earth as it orbited the Moon:

NASA's Orion capsule heads home on historic Artemis I moon mission

[Frodo]

The return of Artemis 1 is set for Sunday -and that by itself will be another major accomplishment if the Orion capsule makes it back to Earth safely:

NASA Will Test a High Stakes Re-Entry Maneuver With Artemis 1 on Sunday

In the meantime, check out this awesome photo:

[Frodo]

All seems to have gone well, more or less, on this test flight.  Although, apparently, the life support system (in its entirety) is going to be tested on Earth instead of in space:

Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft aced its test flight but still hasn't tested life support

The Orion capsule, which commenced the return leg of its groundbreaking journey on Thursday (Dec. 1), is currently not filled with breathable air, European aerospace giant Airbus told Space.com. According to Airbus, which built Orion's service module, the capsule's life support system will only be fully put through its paces in ground-based labs before the first flight with astronauts in 2024.

The Europe-built service module, responsible for propulsion and navigation, is the part of the spacecraft that sustains livable conditions inside Orion's crew compartment. The service module carries water the astronauts will need during the flight and generates breathable air by mixing oxygen and nitrogen that are stored in separate tanks.

During the Artemis 1 mission, however, engineers are only testing the nitrogen delivery system, but fortunately, neither Shaun the Sheep, the plush toy sent for the mission by the European Space Agency (ESA), nor the three dummies occupying the Orion cockpit, mind this fact.

"The oxygen and nitrogen delivery systems are very similar," Airbus spokesperson Ralph Heinrich told Space.com in an email. "We carry nitrogen on board Artemis 1 and will be testing the nitrogen delivery system during the flight that's ongoing at the moment. As the oxygen and nitrogen systems carry the same components, the test on the nitrogen distribution system will cover by similarity the oxygen delivery system. Furthermore, the oxygen system is being tested extensively on ground."

[Frodo]

Here are some more pics from NASA's Artemis 1 mission page:

[ProudModerate2]

Nice photos.
Thanks for sharing.