image source,NASA
The T-38 trainer is an aircraft used by NASA to train astronauts. The picture shows several T-38 trainers flying over the upcoming “Space Launch System” heavy rocket over launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center.
NASA is gearing up for a journey back to the moon, with the countdown to the launch of its new lunar rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS).
The Space Launch System is the most powerful vehicle NASA has ever developed and will form the basis of the Artemis program, which aims to bring American astronauts back to the moon after a 50-year absence.
The Space Launch System Heavy rocket is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center at 08:33 local time (12:33 GMT; 13:33 BST) on Monday (August 29).
The 322-foot-tall Space Launch System will lift the Orion test capsule away from Earth.
The spacecraft will circle the moon in a large arc before returning to the Pacific for splashdown in six weeks.
The United States launched the first step of the plan to return to the moon, and the lunar rocket will fly for the first time
The Orion test capsule is uncrewed this time around, but assuming all the hardware is working properly, astronauts will board the capsule starting in 2024 for a series of more complex missions in the future.
U.S. astronaut Randy Bresnik explained: “Everything we did with the ‘Artemis 1’ flight was from what we could prove, and what we could prove could lower the ‘Artemis One’ Themis II’ manned mission risk perspective.”
image source,Reuters
NASA has several launch opportunities next week, but it’s time to seize the opportunity. Florida weather is very active at this time of year, often with electronic storms passing over the launch site.
In fact, the launch station’s lightning tower has been hit several times in recent days. Early morning is when the weather is usually calmest, making Monday a great day to fly.
“Basically, the start of the launch window, or after 08:30 in the morning, there’s an 80 percent chance of favorable weather,” meteorologist Melody Lovin said.
However, if technical issues push the launch behind the allotted two-hour window, the probability drops to 60 percent, as showers are likely. Rockets are not allowed to lift off in the rain.
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BBC Science EditorRebecca·Rebecca Morelle
Is “Artemis” the new generation of “Apollo”?
When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first steps on the moon in 1969, they ushered in a golden age of space exploration. The Apollo programme changed the way we see the Earth and ourselves. Now, 50 years later, the moon is in human sight again. For those who never witnessed the Apollo missions firsthand, here’s the hope that “Artemis” will inspire a new generation.
The new missions will be different. NASA is planning to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon — a sign that space exploration is open to everyone. And the lunar surface is just the beginning. NASA’s ambitions go further, and it’s targeting Mars. It would really be a huge leap in experience.
