NASA now aiming for SLS launch in November
In finding that Hurricane Ian caused little damage at its vehicle assembly building at Kennedy, NASA managers have decided to target the the November 12 to 27 launch window for the first launch of its SLS rocket.
According to this graph [pdf], November 27th is the only date that will provide NASA with the longest mission for Orion (38 to 42 days). Furthermore, the mission precludes launches on November 13, 20-21, and 26.
Expect them to aim for November 12th, even though that will result in an Orion mission only 26 to 28 days long.
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Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
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In finding that Hurricane Ian caused little damage at its vehicle assembly building at Kennedy, NASA managers have decided to target the the November 12 to 27 launch window for the first launch of its SLS rocket.
According to this graph [pdf], November 27th is the only date that will provide NASA with the longest mission for Orion (38 to 42 days). Furthermore, the mission precludes launches on November 13, 20-21, and 26.
Expect them to aim for November 12th, even though that will result in an Orion mission only 26 to 28 days long.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Looks like November could be “Big Rocket Month”!
Robert, would you mind expanding on why a longer mission would be better? I’m assuming a longer time will give a more thorough test of Orion’s systems when in deep space, although if memory serves Artemis I doesn’t have its life support systems installed.
Scott M: Your assumption is correct of course. A longer flight provides a more thorough test of whatever systems Orion carries.
I also think testing the rocket is the primary goal, which is why I think they’ll launch on the first date they can, even if it results in a shorter Orion mission.
Tropical storm by the time it reached the cape.
I question the wisdom of settling for significantly less Orion flight time on the Artemis I mission. Orion has at yet only a few hours in space on a single mission relatively near Earth, designed primarily to validate the entry system.
The test of the SLS booster system will be over in minutes, but the remainder of the first mission is an excellent opportunity to test and perfect spacecraft navigation and sustained operation, not to mention the European service module for the first time. The opportunity to test this configuration for around 40 days compared to around 25 days is not an inconsiderable one!
Any problems encountered on this mission will likely be solved and thus avoided on Artemis II, where a complex new system for human life support must be the focus. This next objective will benefit from the more stable operational platform that would more likely result from a full-duration Artemis I mission.
There is obviously a strong desire to fly SLS for the first time and move on, and it may be tempting to regard Orion as highly tested already, but these motivations are somewhat illusory, in my opinion.
“Tropical storm by the time it reached the cape.”
I was wondering about how Ian ultimately affected the cape and whether NASA could have got away with leaving SLS on the pad.
I read a 104mph wind gust was recorded on one of the lightening towers so it looks like their precaution was warranted.
But I also read the eye of the storm passed over the cape so they could have done the “Marooned” thing!
Ray Van Dune,
The test really depends upon the test plan. If the shorter flight can achieve all the necessary testing, then a longer flight may not present enough opportunity for — and benefit from — additional testing to offset the risk of a problem arising while waiting for the longer flight opportunity. There are only three long-test windows for November and December, but there are eighteen short-test opportunities. Delaying an adequate test for a small chance at a better test could be counterproductive.
Delays have already made us think that SLS is not a reliable rocket, and additional delays would only feed that kind of thinking. After all, we are seeing month for month delays (actually, we went from launch being days away to being seven weeks away), and at this rate SLS will never launch. At some point you just have to accept the fact that you are ready to fly and say “Let’s light this candle.”
Park the damn thing in a museum.
It’s obsolete.
Experience is what you have moments after you needed it.
SLS and Starship seem joined at the hip…neither can keep a lead.
We know that NASA is a little worried about slumping inside the two boosters.
I wonder if there is a way to send a camera up inside the boosters with maybe a laser system to measure the inside diameter. This could be used to map the inside shape and size from day one to the day before launch.
Or is every section closed off individually and burned through during launch?
A small remote drone might be able to even if it just drove up the walls with wheels pushing on all sides to give it traction.