Launch of the NASA Artemis 1 Mission Has Been Aborted For Now. What Will Happen Next?
The Artemis 1 launch was scrubbed on August 29 due to an issue with one of the four RS-25 engines. We can expect a lot from the space agency and the mission in the future.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said: “We don’t launch until the time is right,” following the announcement that Artemis 1 will not launch. An issue with an RS-25 engine, which powers the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS), postponed the mission.
We are not far away from the next launch window. According to Forbes, it will be between 12.48 PM and 2.48 PM EST on September 2 (between 10.18 PM IST on September 2 and 12.18 AM IST on September 3). On September 5, there is another launch window between 5.12 PM and 6.42 PM EST if the space agency is unable to make that date. It has not yet been confirmed whether NASA will attempt another launch during one of those dates. The mission’s next steps are listed below.
NASA Artemis 1: What’s Next?
During the SLS rocket’s fueling process, NASA teams will investigate what went wrong with engine number 3 of the core stage. Because it’s not a new engine, the RS-25 should take a short amount of time to test since it’s not being tested for the first time.
RS-25 was first used in 1981 to power STS-1 space shuttle orbital after NASA began developing it in 1970.
According to Mike Sarafin, the launch could still take place this week. “Friday is definitely on the table.”. Data analysis will take some time. Space.com reports Sarafin said during the conference that the team is preparing for a 96-hour recycle. Despite this, NASA won’t rush the launch.
In my personal experience, I have taken part in the 24th shuttle flight. A perfect mission was achieved the fifth time after we scrubbed four times. The previous attempts would not have been good missions,” Nelson said during his remarks. He worked as a payload specialist on STS-61-C.
Although the RS-25 engine is a relic of the space shuttle era, the SLS rocket isn’t. In addition to multiple engines, stages, fuels, and configurations, it is the most powerful rocket ever built. The SLS rocket will also be stressed and tested for Artemis I to ensure it is safe and reliable for crewed missions in the future.
SLS rockets are not designed to be reused. Unlike SpaceX’s super heavy lift vehicle Starship, they can only be used for one launch. By 2025, NASA expects to spend a minimum of $93 billion on the development and deployment of the Artemis program, with the cost of the SLS Orion system expected to be about $4.1 billion per launch. NASA is unlikely to embark on the mission until all the kinks have been ironed out even though a launch is still on the cards this week..
We expect more details and clarification to be provided at NASA’s press conference on August 31 at 3.30 AM IST.
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