NASA’s Artemis 1 Launch Highlights: Orion is now Moon-bound

After multiple issues popped up during tanking operations, NASA’s Artemis 1 mission launched from Launch Complex 39B of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12.17 PM IST on November 16. Around eight minutes after launch, the core stage engines cut off and the core stage separated from the rest of the rocket. After this, the Orion spacecraft was propelled by the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS). NASA also deployed the Orion spacecraft’s four solar arrays. After completing “translunar injection,” Orion separated itself from ICPS and is now on its way to the lunar orbit.

The Artemis 1 mission was earlier scheduled to launch on November 14 but it had to be postponed because of tropical storm Nicole. The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft were left at the launch complex to weather the storm and suffered slight damage due to it. The space agency’s previous attempts to launch the Artemis 1 mission had to be cancelled due to various issues with the new rocket and spacecraft. The first launch attempt had to be scrubbed due to an engine bleed issue with one of the core stage’s RS-25 engines, while the second launch attempt had to be scrubbed because of a hydrogen leak.

Artemis II will follow in Artemis I’s footsteps
Unlike Artemis I, Artemis II will have a crew aboard Orion and will be a test mission to confirm that all of the spacecraft’s systems will operate as designed when it has humans on board. But the Artemis II launch will be similar to that of Artemis I. A crew of four astronauts will be aboard Orion as it and ICPS orbit the Earth twice before moving to the direction of the Moon.

The crew will use ICPS as a target to demonstrate proximity operations after it separates from Orion. They will use the cameras aboard the spacecraft and the view from its windows to line up with ICPS as they back away from the upper stage in order to understand Orion’s handling qualities.

According to NASA, this demonstration will help provide operational experience and performance data that cannot come from ground simulations. This will help in rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking and undocking operations, which will start with Artemis III.

What is next for Orion?

Now that Orion has separated itself from ICPS, it will continue on its path towards a lunar distant retrograde orbit, in which it will travel around 65,000 kilometres beyond the Moon, or about 450,000 kilometres away from our planet.  

The Artemis 1 flight test is aimed at demonstrating the performance and gathering engineering data of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. An important part of Orion’s mission will be when it reenters Earth at speeds of more than 40,000 kilometres per hour. 

According to NASA, this lunar velocity reentry is a top mission priority and it will test the performance of the spacecraft’s heat shields. During reentry, Orion will be heated up to nearly 2,760 degrees Celsius, which is about half as hot as the surface of the Sun.

With Thanks Reference to: https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/nasa-artemis-1-launch-live-updates-8269515/