Tag: NASA

Aretemis 1 is finally headed to the moon

Rupesh VargheseLeave a comment

After a long delay and a hold on the countdown, Artemis 1 had a very exciting launch into space. SLS took off at 1:47 AM from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

It also marks a major success for NASA’s Artemis program to return to the Moon, which has been plagued by years of delays, development mishaps, and billions of dollars in budget overruns. During the past few months, both hurricanes and technical difficulties caused launch delays — including two scrubs. Then, tonight, engineers managed to fix both an intermittent hydrogen leak and a “bad ethernet switch” in the hours just before launch.

Originally reported on The Verge

NASA’s Artemis is hours from launch (maybe)

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NASA mission management have stated that the Artemis 1 launch is a go. This will a test of the SLS rocket to test readiness to bring Astronauts back to the moon in a few years.

A successful launch would be a key milestone for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to put the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface. The agency has not launched a space vehicle designed to send astronauts to the moon since 1972.

The initial launch was scheduled for August, which got called off for a faulty engine sensor.

Originally reported on NPR. Featured image taken from article.

Super secret space plane returns to earth after 908 days in orbit

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The Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle which looks like a mini space shuttle has landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The space plane spent, 908 days in space. This was its sixth mission.

“Since the X-37B’s first launch in 2010, it has shattered records and provided our nation with an unrivaled capability to rapidly test and integrate new space technologies,” said Jim Chilton, a senior vice president for Boeing, its developer.

The previous mission lasted 780 days.

Originally reported on AP. Featured image taken from article

NASA says its SLS rocket is good to go for a launch attempt next Wednesday

Rupesh VargheseLeave a comment

I’ve been eagerly waiting to see the SLS rocket launch. This has been plagued by multiple delays, the latest of which was due to hurricane Nicole.

The next launch is scheduled for the morning of November 16. This will be the third attempt to launch Artemis. Artemis Program is an attempt to for humans to go back to the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972

A preliminary inspection of the rocket on Thursday night and Friday night after the storm had passed revealed only some very minor issues, most of which had already been addressed by Friday afternoon when Free spoke to reporters during a teleconference. “We design it to be out there,” Free said of the rocket, noting Kennedy Space Center’s exposure to hurricanes on Florida’s Atlantic coast. “If we didn’t design it to be out there in harsh weather, we picked the wrong launch spot.”

Originally reported on Ars Technica. Featured image by Trevor Mahlmann on Ars Technica