NASA sets new Artemis I launch date

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From the weekly Ars Technica Rocket Report:

"... A little more than two weeks have passed since NASA prudently rolled its Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft inside the massive Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center to protect the hardware from Hurricane Ian. During that time, engineers and technicians from the space agency and its contractors have performed a detailed inspection of the rocket and spacecraft to determine its flight readiness. They found nothing of concern, Ars reports.

Pre-Thanksgiving launch ... "Inspections and analyses over the previous week have confirmed minimal work is required to prepare the rocket and spacecraft to roll out to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida following the roll-back due to Hurricane Ian," the agency said. As a result, NASA now plans to move the Artemis I stack back to the launch site as early as Friday, November 4. This would allow for an initial launch attempt of the mission at 12:07 am ET (05:07 UTC) on November 14. There is a 67-minute launch window for this opportunity."

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[Unitron48]

Still on target for 4 November rollout: https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2022/10/ ... aunch-pad/.

Wishing it well!

Dave

[Ylem]

This is great news!

Wishing them well!

[smp]

From CNN today:
"NASA’s Artemis I mega moon rocket is back on the launchpad ahead of third launch attempt"

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/04/world/ar ... index.html

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[smp]

From Ars Technica today:
"NASA will leave its $4.1 billion rocket outside as Nicole approaches Florida"

"The team reviewed the forecast and determined the rocket will remain at the pad."

"The problem for NASA is that the forecast for Nicole is getting a little worse. As of early Tuesday morning, the National Hurricane Center forecast that Nicole would transition from a subtropical into a tropical storm and come ashore on the Florida coast just south of Kennedy Space Center as a Category 1 hurricane. The corresponding odds for hurricane-force winds—at or above the safety limit established by NASA for its rocket—are now up to 10 percent. This is higher than the forecast that prompted a rollback during Ian."

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/11 ... s-florida/

Oh, no! Here we go again!

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[Unitron48]

Oh no is right! Here's hoping!!

Dave

[smp]

From CNN this morning:
"NASA’s Artemis I mission delayed again as storm barrels toward launch site"

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/08/world/na ... index.html

It's only a couple of days, but the weather forecast is not getting any better...

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[helicon]

Too bad. The mission so far seems to be snake bit by various factors.

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From the Ars Technical Rocket Report:

Artemis I rocket left exposed to hurricane winds.
“It appears that NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft may have been exposed to winds above their design tolerances during the landfall of Hurricane Nicole, Ars reports. A peak gust of 87 knots was reported on the National Weather Service site, which had data from sensors on the lightning towers next to the rocket's launch pad, with multiple gusts above NASA's design levels. It is possible that the 74.4-knot design limit has some margin built into it.”

So what happens now?
“Nominally, the space agency is still targeting a launch attempt at 1:04 am EST (06:04 UTC) on Wednesday, November 16. Theoretically that remains possible, but in reality it seems unlikely. However, late on Thursday afternoon NASA human exploration systems development chief Jim Free said via tweet that, based on video inspections, the rocket had sustained only " very minor damage" from Nicole. The rocket could handle the winds it experienced, he said, adding that he expected Artemis I to be cleared for launch "shortly" despite no structural integrity analysis being done yet.”

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[smp]

From Ars Technica:
"NASA gets its mojo back with a stunning nighttime launch of the SLS rocket"

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/11 ... ls-rocket/

Go, baby, go!

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[helicon]

It was a pretty impressive launch.

[Unitron48]

Great success! Wishing it all the best!!

Dave

[smp]

From CNN:
"Artemis I mission shares spectacular view of Earth after a historic launch"

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/16/world/ar ... index.html

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