NASA is making its third attempt to launch the Artemis I moon rocket on September 23, according to a senior official. The US space agency may launch the Artemis I SLS-Orion spacecraft on September 23 or September 27. The new dates came days after NASA halted a rocket launch for a second time due to a fuel leak. The agency has another important test related to planetary defense against near-Earth objects, scheduled for later this month.
According to A Report Via Phys.org, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development Jim Free revealed on Thursday that the next possible dates for the upcoming Artemis I launch attempt could be September 23rd and September 27th. This will be NASA’s third attempt to launch a spacecraft, after a second attempt was scrubbed last month.
NASA will have an 80-minute launch window on September 23 and a 70-minute launch window on September 27, the official said, adding that the launch window for these dates will begin at 6:47 a.m. EDT (4:17 a.m. IST). and 11:37am EDT (9:07pm IST) respectively.
It’s also worth noting that NASA has another important program planned for that week – the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) for planetary protection from near-Earth objects, scheduled to hit an asteroid on September 26.
“We will keep @NASA_SLS and @NASA_Orion here [launch]Pads such as we evaluate seals on one of our fuel feed lines and validate repairs under cryogenic conditions. In addition, we are reviewing our loading process to ensure resolution,” Free said on Twitter.
According to the report, the launch of Artemis I still depends on the space agency’s ability to waive it so it can avoid retesting the batteries for the emergency flight system designed to destroy the rocket — if it veers off its planned path. the moon Without the waiver, NASA’s plans to launch the rocket could take several more weeks.
