Countdown begins for the Artemis-2 mission around the Moon
NASA this afternoon began the two-day long countdown leading up to the planned 6:24 pm (Eastern) launch of its Artemis-2 mission, sending three Americans and one Canadian around the Moon.
The onsite countdown clock started ticking down at 4:44 p.m. EDT to a targeted launch time of 6:24 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1. Artemis II is the first crewed launch of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft.
…NASA and weather officers with the U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 continue to pay close attention to weather conditions ahead of tanking operations. The weather forecast for launch day shows an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions with primary concerns being cloud coverage and the potential for high winds in the area. Teams will continue to monitor the weather in the coming days.
The ten-day mission will use the SLS rocket, which has only flown once previously, and has had repeated fueling issues prior to that 2022 launch as well as during dress rehearsal countdowns last month. It will also use an Orion capsule with a questionable heat shield and an untested life support system.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
NASA this afternoon began the two-day long countdown leading up to the planned 6:24 pm (Eastern) launch of its Artemis-2 mission, sending three Americans and one Canadian around the Moon.
The onsite countdown clock started ticking down at 4:44 p.m. EDT to a targeted launch time of 6:24 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1. Artemis II is the first crewed launch of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft.
…NASA and weather officers with the U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 continue to pay close attention to weather conditions ahead of tanking operations. The weather forecast for launch day shows an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions with primary concerns being cloud coverage and the potential for high winds in the area. Teams will continue to monitor the weather in the coming days.
The ten-day mission will use the SLS rocket, which has only flown once previously, and has had repeated fueling issues prior to that 2022 launch as well as during dress rehearsal countdowns last month. It will also use an Orion capsule with a questionable heat shield and an untested life support system.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Prayers up for the crew.
Enough has already been written and said about the insanity of this mission.
Pointless mission.
Just heard a news report where they talked about being able to observe the far side of the Moon “to see the colors as seen by a human eye”. Wonder if they realize that when they get there, it’ll be a few days past the full moon, and not much of the far side (it’ll truly be the “dark side”) will be lit up.
Andi: Almost every grand claim by NASA about this Artemis-2 mission is at best exaggerated blather, and at worst an outright lie. If Isaacman was truly serious about rationalizing the entire Artemis program, he would have changed this mission to a 30-day manned mission in high and low Earth orbit, to properly test the capsule’s maneuverability and life support systems. without risking the astronaut’s lives. That would have also eliminated the heat shield issue, which doesn’t not need testing again as they are abandoning it after this mission.
He did not, and so we have this type of foolishness, eaten up by a press that knows nothing and likes to sell it proudly.
Regarding that heat shield – if their reentry is straight in like the Apollo, it’s going to have to dissipate over twice the energy compared with reentry from LEO. Sure hope they’ve used something stronger than duct tape to hold it all together.
Andi: They have purposely shifted the flight path to reduce stress on the shield. They think this will work. We shall see.
The wiki article states, “Rather than replacing the heat shield for Artemis II, NASA elected to modify the reentry trajectory by increasing the descent angle, reducing the time the spacecraft would spend in the thermal environment associated with the damage. ”
Sounds like it will come in “hot and heavy”, reaching denser atmosphere at a higher speed and generating more heat and g forces than the skip reentry.
Sure hope it works.
Some nice commentary here by Harrison Schmitt. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/nasa-artemis-ii-advice-apollo-17-astronaut-walked-moon-rcna265892
Two things from this piece struck me. First, for anyone younger than 55, watching human beings travel to the moon is indeed new, and it is not “lived back then, saw all that” as it is for older folks. Second, Prof. Schmitt and his wife regularly break bread with astronauts in training at their home in New Mexico, thus helping to keep the circle unbroken. God willing, it would be nice to think that they and the post-flight Artemis crew will spend an evening together under the dark New Mexico sky.
As Robert says, “We shall see.” I’m not counting anything until the astronauts are back safely.
Isaacson probably pulled back as much as he could by repurposing Artimus III. Pulling Artimus II back to low earth orbit might have been a bridge too far.
Like large ships, government programs have a large turning radius. I remember comments about the SR-71 having a turning radius of ‘about three states.”