The Orion Spacecraft is headed to the Moon after NASA successfully carried out the maiden launch of SLS to begin the Artemis I mission. In the early morning hours at Kennedy Space Center, the countdown clock hit T-O at 1:47 ET, four main engines and twin solid rocket boosters ignited, and SLS lifted off the launchpad, turning night to day.
SLS cleared the launch pad and began to execute a roll program to bring Orion on course for the Moon. Two minutes into the flight, having done their job, the solid rocket boosters separated from the core stage, and the four RS-25 engines continued to burn.
Six minutes into the flight, SLS could still be seen by the naked eye as it passed alongside its destination, the Moon. Finally, just eight minutes after launch, SLS’s core stage main engines (MECO) cutoff, and the core stage separated from the Orion spacecraft. Nearly fifty years after the end of the Apollo program, Space Launch System is officially the most powerful rocket to launch into space, taking the first steps of the Artemis program to return humans to the Moon.
The Orion spacecraft deployed its solar array wings eighteen minutes into the flight, a process which took about twelve minutes to begin the 26-day mission to the Moon and back. NASA will take Orion through a series of maneuvers and milestones to test the spacecraft’s systems and performance.
The first maneuver occurred just fifty two minutes after launch, a perigee raise maneuver necessary to move Orion into position for the more critical trans-lunar injection burn. This eighteen minute burn, performed by the ICPS, occurred at 3:14 am ET, after which the ICPS separated from Orion.
Orion is officially on its way to the Moon, a journey of over 200,000 miles.
The Road to Countdown
On Tuesday, NASA began loading the rocket stages with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. For this attempt at launch, “a kinder and gentler approach,” was used after hydrogen leaks developed during the first and second launch attempts, leading to scrubs.
Core stage propellant loading through the slow fill phase carried on without issues before teams moved on to the fast fill stage of the tanking process. As the ICPS filled with liquid hydrogen and oxygen, a small leak developed in one of the hydrogen valves in the core stage.
This development paused tanking operations as the elite Red Crew assembled to drive out to the launch pad. NASA’s Red Crew is a specially trained team of technicians trained to inspect and conduct operations at the launch pad while the rocket is fueled and alive. Their job is extremely dangerous, so NASA has increased the use of technology and remote cameras since the Shuttle Program to reduce the need to use the team. Up until now, the technology has been adequate.
Mike Bolger, NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program Manager, said the decision to send out the Red Crew was made after the camera views of the leak did not provide “a great view.”
“We were able to see the top half, we could see some vapors, so that helped inform what our measurements were telling us. We talked about other options where we wouldn’t have to send the Red Team out, specifically if we could shut the replenish valve off and use the main valve.” said Bolger. But this valve would negate the kinder, gentler method of tanking NASA was employing and potentially create new issues.
In the end, a decision was made to send a three man team to the launch pad to tighten packing nuts near the base of the mobile launcher. “There are times you just gotta put a wrench on a nut and resolve an issue,” said Bolger.
That wasn’t the end of issues threatening to end Wednesday night’s launch though. Just as the Red Team was finishing up work on the launch pad, NASA launch commentator Derrol Nail, began detailing an issue from The Range. The United States Space Force is in charge of overseeing range safety control for the Department of Defense, and rockets cannot launch without their say-so.
A radar site required for the launch was experiencing a loss of signal, which meant NASA could not launch SLS while the Space Force worked to troubleshoot the issue. Minutes later, an ethernet hardware issue was found to be the cause of the outage, but the range still had to replace and test the system.
The launch of Artemis I officially slipped into the two-hour launch window. Launch control announced an extension to the planned 30-minute hold to give the range time to test their systems and began working on a new T-0.
Half an hour later teams announced there were no launch constraints and a new launch time of 1:47 a.m. ET was set as teams polled go to proceed with the terminal countdown and launch. Seconds later, at 1:37 a.m. ET, the countdown clock resumed until Space Launch System lifted off the pad at 1:47 a.m. ET.
Related: Artemis I Photos from the Launch Pad
Illinois Based Artemis Partners
In addition to primary contractors, over forty Illinois-based companies contributed to the success of this launch and the Artemis program. From Otto Industries in Carpentersville to the Aurora Bearing Company in Aurora, dozens of companies across several industries in Illinois were chosen to support the mission.
Orion Continues on to the Moon
With the launch behind them, Artemis mission managers turn their focus to the Orion spacecraft as it makes its way to the Moon. One of the primary goals of Artemis I is to test the function of the spacecraft and all its systems as it travels into deep space.
Orion is set to carry out a 26-day mission to the Moon, traveling farther into space than any other human-rated spacecraft has ever gone. In five days, Orion will reach the moon and perform a close flyby to put the spacecraft into distant retrograde orbit (DRO). When NASA is ready to bring the spacecraft home, Orion will depart DRO and perform a return-powered flyby to set it on a path for Earth.
On the final day of the mission, Orion will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere, performing a skip entry technique, before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. Demonstrating the ability of Orion’s heatshield to withstand the extreme temperature conditions created on reentry is necessary as NASA progresses to crewed missions.
On the final day of the mission, Orion will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere, performing a skip entry technique, before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. Demonstrating the ability of Orion’s heatshield to withstand the extreme temperature conditions created on reentry is necessary as NASA progresses to crewed missions.
As part of the Artemis program, NASA plans to land the first woman and person of color on the Moon by 2024 as part of a much greater goal of pushing human space exploration further into deep space.
For mission updates, Follow the Artemis I NASA blog.
