Artemis I launch explained
Aug 28, 2022
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) will launch the Orion capsule on the Artemis I mission to the Moon. Judd Frieling, Artemis I ascent and entry flight director, explains the launch events.
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) will launch the Orion capsule on the Artemis I mission to the Moon. Judd Frieling, Artemis I ascent and entry flight director, explains the launch events.
A quick recap of NASA’s history in space exploration segueing to Artemis serves as the opening video for the launch broadcast for the agency’s Artemis I mission. The broadcast originates from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft will lift off from Launch Complex 39B no earlier than November 16 on a mission beyond the Moon and back to Earth.
NASA’s Artemis I mission lifted off on Nov. 16, 2022, from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B. This video includes highlights from the event.
With 8.8 million pounds of thrust, the Space Launch System (SLS), is NASA’s most powerful rocket. It will send the uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond the Moon, 280,000 miles from Earth, farther than any human-rated spacecraft has ever flown.
After 26 days and a total distance of over a million miles, Orion will return home faster and hotter than any spacecraft has before.
The primary goals for Artemis I are to demonstrate Orion’s systems in a spaceflight environment and ensure a safe re-entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery prior to the first flight with crew on Artemis II.
The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will demonstrate our commitment and capability to build a long-term human presence at the Moon for decades to come.
On November 16, 2022, at 1:47 a.m. EST, NASA's SLS rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center as the Artemis I mission began.
For NASA’s Artemis I (Artemis-1) mission to the Moon, the first Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle launched the Orion spacecraft on an uncrewed flight test, from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on 16 November 2022, at 06:48 UTC (01:48 EST). Orion is scheduled to fly about 100 km (62 miles) above the surface of the Moon, then use the Moon’s gravitational force to propel itself into a new deep retrograde, or opposite, orbit about 64,000 km (40,000 miles) from the Moon. Artemis-1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
For NASA’s Artemis I (Artemis-1) mission to the Moon, the upper stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) performed the Trans-lunar injection about one hour and 30 minutes after being launched from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on 16 November 2022, at 06:48 UTC (01:48 EST). About one hour and 58 minutes after launch, the Orion spacecraft successfully separated from the upper stage.
For NASA’s Artemis I (Artemis-1) mission to the Moon, the Orion spacecraft returned images of the Earth approximately nine hours and 25 minutes after being launched from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on 16 November 2022, at 06:48 UTC (01:48 EST).
Watch live as NASA's Orion spacecraft performs a close approach of the lunar surface on its way to a distant retrograde orbit, a highly stable orbit thousands of miles beyond the Moon. During the Artemis I flight test, launched on Nov. 16, Orion will travel 280,000 miles (450,000 km) from Earth and 40,000 miles (64,000 km) beyond the far side of the Moon, carrying science and technology payloads to expand our understanding of lunar science, technology developments, and deep space radiation.
Through Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone to send astronauts to Mars. We are going.
For NASA’s Artemis I (Artemis-1) mission to the Moon, the Orion spacecraft performed an outbound powered flyby burn by firing the orbital maneuvering system engine for 2 minutes and 30 seconds in order to accelerate the spacecraft, harness the force from the Moon’s gravity, and direct it toward a distant retrograde orbit beyond the Moon. According to NASA, the “Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO) provides a highly stable orbit where little fuel is required to stay for an extended trip in deep space to put Orion’s systems to the test in an environment far from Earth.”
For NASA’s Artemis I (Artemis-1) mission to the Moon, the Orion spacecraft performed an outbound powered flyby burn by firing the orbital maneuvering system engine for 2 minutes and 30 seconds in order to accelerate the spacecraft, harness the force from the Moon’s gravity, and direct it toward a distant retrograde orbit beyond the Moon.
For NASA’s Artemis I (Artemis-1) mission to the Moon, the Orion spacecraft fired the orbital maneuvering system engine, on its European service module, to propel into a “Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO), on 25 November 2022, at 21:52 UTC (16:52 EST). According to NASA, the “Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO) provides a highly stable orbit where little fuel is required to stay for an extended trip in deep space to put Orion’s systems to the test in an environment far from Earth.”
On 1 December 2022, the uncrewed Orion spacecraft performed the Distant Retrograde Orbit departure burn.
For NASA’s Artemis I mission, the uncrewed Orion spacecraft performed its return powered flyby of the Moon, on 5 December 2022, heading back to Earth.
For NASA’s Artemis I mission, the uncrewed Orion spacecraft successfully splashdown off the Baja Coast near Guadalupe Island, on 11 December 2022, at 17:40 UTC (12:40 EST).
Four astronauts have been selected for NASA’s Artemis II mission: Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency.
Artemis II will be NASA’s first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft around the Moon to verify today’s capabilities for humans to explore deep space and pave the way for long-term exploration and science on the lunar surface.
Introducing the crew of our Artemis II Moon mission, lighting up an Artemis rocket engine, and a new image of a distant planet. A few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!