Chicago's Independent Space News Outlet
NASA is ready to launch the Space Launch System and Orion as part of the Artemis I mission to return humans to the Moon. The Artemis I mission is an uncrewed test flight to certify SLS, Orion, and Deep Space Systems meant to safely support human deep space exploration. NASA plans to put the first…
Late Monday evening, NASA managers announced they plan to push forward with the launch of Artemis I on Wednesday despite damage to SLS caused by Hurricane Nicole. The launch countdown began early Monday morning and continued to progress smoothly throughout the day as teams worked on issues mentioned during yesterday’s Mission Management Team (MMT) review.…
The launch of Artemis I will not occur on November 14 after NASA decided late this afternoon to delay the launch due to the approach of Tropical Storm Nicole. This delay will allow employees time to prepare their homes for the storm and post-storm inspections of the Kennedy Space Center facilities. Artemis I is now…
On Wednesday, NASA announced new dates for the next launch attempt of Artemis I. After needing to roll SLS back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to avoid damage from Hurricane Ian, NASA says it can have SLS ready for launch by mid-November. Liftoff of Artemis I is now scheduled for Monday, November 14th, at 12:04…
NASA’s DART spacecraft is on track to smash into an asteroid as part of a planetary defense test. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, is scheduled to make impact with Dimorphos on September 26th, 2022, at 6:14 pm CDT. NASA will provide a live broadcast of the event beginning at 5 pm CDT on…
At a Friday morning telecon, NASA discussed Wednesday’s cryogenic tanking test results. Mid-test hydrogen (LH2) began leaking from a quick disconnect seal again. Teams then implemented new procedures to manage the flow of LH2 into the rocket. They began first by stopping the flow of LH2 and allowing the seal to warm up and reseat…
Axiom Space won a NASA contract to develop Artemis spacesuits for the Artemis III lunar mission. The $228.5 million NASA contract gives Houston-based Axiom Space the task of designing and building the next-gen suits specifically for the job of moonwalking. The Artemis program involves human lunar spaceflight missions, with Artemis III being the mission that…
UPDATE: NASA announced an update to both the cryogenic test and the next launch attempt for the Artemis 1 mission. The cryogenic demonstration test will take place no earlier than September 21st and the next launch opportunity request has been made for September 27th, with a backup launch date of October 2nd. Over the last…
NASA’s Space Launch System is ready to roll out to the launchpad for the Artemis 1 mission. Originally scheduled to happen on August 18th, NASA’s ground systems team moved up the timeframe for the rollout of SLS to Launch Pad 39B, with the launch still scheduled for no earlier than August 29th. Rollout of SLS…
After four wet dress rehearsals and continuing work on the Space Launch System, NASA announced the first set of Artemis 1 launch dates. NASA expects Artemis 1 to launch no earlier than August 29th, with September 2nd and 5th as potential launch dates within the same launch window. Artemis 1 is an unmanned mission that…