A historic return to deep space now underway.
As reported on Thursday’s AM Update, astronauts are on their way back toward the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen embarked on a 10-day deep space flight from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Launch
Artemis II officially lifted off after a tense countdown marked by multiple last-minute issues. About 90 minutes before launch, engineers identified concerns with the Flight Termination System (FTS), a critical safety feature that essentially allows engineers on the ground to self-destruct the rocket if it deviates from course during takeoff in a manner that could present a threat to public safety. The issue was successfully troubleshooted.
At 6:22pm, each team involved in the mission giving the official “go” for launch. At 6:35pm, the twin solid rocket boosters, which were responsible for 75 percent of the thrust required to lift the 32-story, 5.75 million pound Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, ignited. Moments later, liftoff.
About one minute into the flight, Artemis II had already surpassed the speed of sound. Several hours into the mission, the Orion capsule carrying the crew separated from the SLS rocket that carried it into space.
The Mission
The astronauts are now settling into the first phase of a 10-day mission that could push them farther into space than mankind has ever been before. The current record, held by Apollo 13 in 1970, is set at 248,655 miles from Earth.
On Thursday, the crew will complete tasks that involving orbiting the earth while testing critical onboard systems, including life support, communications, and navigation. Days two to four of the mission are the journey toward the moon and, by day five, the moon’s gravity will take over as the dominant force guiding the spacecraft.
On day six, the crew is expected to reach the closest it will get to the moon and the furthest it will get from the Earth. The return flight will start on day seven with the crew using the moon’s gravity to slingshot around it – no fuel required.
Day nine marks the capsule’s last full day in space as the astronauts will prepare for re-entry and splashdown somewhere in the Pacific Ocean while traveling 25,000 (!) miles per hour. The U.S. Navy will be on standby to retrieve the crew.
Godspeed, Artemis II.
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