Artemis Mission

Roller

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I think this is big enough that it deserves its own thread.

The last mission I was this excited about was the JWST, though the launch itself used a proven platform, Ariane 5. Most of the challenges were about deployments and commissioning of untested technology. Before that, several of the Mars missions similarly grabbed my attention, especially during their final phases.

Artemis feels more like Apollo in scope and aims. Before Apollo 8 set off for its orbital moonshot, the Saturn had been tested on several un-crewed and crewed missions. Not so with the Space Launch System, which uses a rocket and boosters that produce 1.3 million pounds more thrust than the Saturn V. SpaceX's Starship will about double that when it launches later this year or early in 2023, but until then, SLS will be the most powerful to date.

The last I heard, the forecast was 80% favorable for tomorrow morning.
 

lizkat

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I think this is big enough that it deserves its own thread.

The last mission I was this excited about was the JWST, though the launch itself used a proven platform, Ariane 5. Most of the challenges were about deployments and commissioning of untested technology. Before that, several of the Mars missions similarly grabbed my attention, especially during their final phases.m

Artemis feels more like Apollo in scope and aims. Before Apollo 8 set off for its orbital moonshot, the Saturn had been tested on several un-crewed and crewed missions. Not so with the Space Launch System, which uses a rocket and boosters that produce 1.3 million pounds more thrust than the Saturn V. SpaceX's Starship will about double that when it launches later this year or early in 2023, but until then, SLS will be the most powerful to date.

The last I heard, the forecast was 80% favorable for tomorrow morning.

I am so psyched about this that I told a pal I'm totally giving up eating ANY bacon at all from now on, just to help assure I'll live long enough to see the first crewed launch in 2024. Whatever it takes... :ROFLMAO:

Sure hope the Monday test launch can go, and will be wildly successful.

Here's the NASA blog for Artemis

To watch the Artemis I launch live, there are many options including NASA's YouTube channel, its main live website, the NASA app or various of its social media accounts.



 

DT

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Good call, this an epic moment for our space program. I commented on it in a thread about the [fictional] series, For All Mankind, but it certainly deserves its own thread. :)

We'll be up and looking south tomorrow morning :D
 

quagmire

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I am a huge fan of the Artemis program. We should have never left the moon.

SLS on the other hand...... Needs to be killed. Born and designed by politicians.
 

Eric

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In the 50 years since we've stepped foot on the moon it doesn't feel like we've made any real leaps here, we're sending human analogs and returning in a capsule parachuting into the ocean. It's as if we're repeating it all over again only this time we're not prepared to send humans, the whole thing feels like a step backwards.
 

quagmire

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In the 50 years since we've stepped foot on the moon it doesn't feel like we've made any real leaps here, we're sending human analogs and returning in a capsule parachuting into the ocean. It's as if we're repeating it all over again only this time we're not prepared to send humans, the whole thing feels like a step backwards.

Capsules are the ideal for lunar reentry.

For instance, Shuttle would not survive lunar reentry speeds. It would burn up.
 

lizkat

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Heard they were having some issues with the #3 engine this morning during tank fueling...

we're workin' on it.jpg
 

Roller

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The launch has been scrubbed for today because of the engine bleed issue noted above. Disappointing, but better to be sure about what's going on than proceed — this apparently was a strict launch constraint. The next opportunity will be this Friday, Sept. 2. I hope the problem isn't serious enough to require the vehicle to be returned to the VAB, but we'll see.

I know the circumstances are different, but this makes me think of the conversations that went on behind the scenes when the decision to launch Challenger was made in 1986.
 

fischersd

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I am so psyched about this that I told a pal I'm totally giving up eating ANY bacon at all from now on, just to help assure I'll live long enough to see the first crewed launch in 2024. Whatever it takes... :ROFLMAO:
NO-ONE should EVER stop eating bacon! :eek:

(it's not the bacon that'll kill you - it's the carbs) :D

Nice to see us getting back to the moon. :)
 

DT

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@Roller, oh yeah, I see the update from the site from 8:40:26, bummer. Sounds like the weather compounded an already difficult situation.

Here's the URL for the updates I was using ...

 

lizkat

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The launch has been scrubbed for today because of the engine bleed issue noted above. Disappointing, but better to be sure about what's going on than proceed — this apparently was a strict launch constraint. The next opportunity will be this Friday, Sept. 2. I hope the problem isn't serious enough to require the vehicle to be returned to the VAB, but we'll see.

I know the circumstances are different, but this makes me think of the conversations that went on behind the scenes when the decision to launch Challenger was made in 1986.
Yeah well I'm relieved they didn't talk themselves into ignoring any established constraints or expectations

I'd hope the main thing they all kept in mind was that this COULD have been a countdown to launch with human crew aboard... and so would they fudge a constraint in that case? Apparently they have had the good sense to say no on that one. It would be unforgivable if lessons learned from Challenger got laid aside for some political expediency.
 

Roller

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@Roller, oh yeah, I see the update from the site from 8:40:26, bummer. Sounds like the weather compounded an already difficult situation.

Here's the URL for the updates I was using ...

I started watching NASA TV on their website at around 7 AM Eastern time, where a commentator provided periodic verbal updates. Every time he ended a comment with "This is Artemis launch control," I had a weird flashback to "This is Apollo launch control" from the 60s and 70s.

As I'm typing this, I'm listening to an interview with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who emphasized how complex these machines are.
 

Roller

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Yeah well I'm relieved they didn't talk themselves into ignoring any established constraints or expectations

I'd hope the main thing they all kept in mind was that this COULD have been a countdown to launch with human crew aboard... and so would they fudge a constraint in that case? Apparently they have had the good sense to say no on that one. It would be unforgivable if lessons learned from Challenger got laid aside for some political expediency.
Not that politics should enter into their decision-making, but I think NASA knows launching despite constraints and failing would incur tremendous political fallout.
 

quagmire

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Yeah well I'm relieved they didn't talk themselves into ignoring any established constraints or expectations

I'd hope the main thing they all kept in mind was that this COULD have been a countdown to launch with human crew aboard... and so would they fudge a constraint in that case? Apparently they have had the good sense to say no on that one. It would be unforgivable if lessons learned from Challenger got laid aside for some political expediency.

Not that politics should enter into their decision-making, but I think NASA knows launching despite constraints and failing would incur tremendous political fallout.

Artemis-1 is already operating under quite a few waivers( mainly SRB stack limit being waived).

But there was no way they would have waived this constraint. Bad things happen when trying to ignite an engine that hasn't been chilled down. Shock cooling the metal=bad. They would in no way decide to launch even if the Challenger managers were there with go fever.
 

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I know the circumstances are different, but this makes me think of the conversations that went on behind the scenes when the decision to launch Challenger was made in 1986.

I remember that. And months later during a hearing, Dr. Richard Feynman so eloquently demonstrating how the solid rocket booster o-ring failed in cold weather.

 

lizkat

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Not that politics should enter into their decision-making, but I think NASA knows launching despite constraints and failing would incur tremendous political fallout.

Global fallout too. A lot of countries have a lot of time money and talent sitting on that assembly...
 

Roller

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I'm watching the NASA press conference. In sum, the team couldn't chill the third engine sufficiently in preparation for launch. It's too early to say why or whether this will be resolved in time for the next window on Friday, but as Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, said, there's a non-zero chance of a launch Friday. :) He also noted the problem was unlikely to be with the engine itself, so they probably won't have to replace it.

We should know much more in the next 24-48 hours. The next briefing will be tomorrow evening.
 

AG_PhamD

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I am a huge fan of the Artemis program. We should have never left the moon.

SLS on the other hand...... Needs to be killed. Born and designed by politicians.

I’m all for returning the moon and exploring beyond, but my god the SLS is a boondoggle. Plus I think a 2025 human landing schedule is laughable. The current trajectory for the $500m launch tower (required for the later blocks of SLS) is $1B over budget and 2028 completion date. The spacesuits have yet to be figured out and are years behind schedule. And perhaps most significant of all is there’s no way to get from the Orion capsule to the lunar surface and back… and I think it’s highly questionable if Starship is the right solution for that, especially in the near term. Especially when you consider the amount of shuffling of fuel in space for that to occur. And if Starship is capable of landing on the moon, why bother with SLS?

I get the whole political nonsense NASA has to deal with, but this program seems like a total mess.

If there’s a will, there’s a way to get things done more efficiently, but I’d hate to see the program cut short. I could totally see the US’s political and financial landscape changing and Artemis either being cut entirely or put on ice.
 

lizkat

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I'm watching the NASA press conference. In sum, the team couldn't chill the third engine sufficiently in preparation for launch. It's too early to say why or whether this will be resolved in time for the next window on Friday, but as Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, said, there's a non-zero chance of a launch Friday. :) He also noted the problem was unlikely to be with the engine itself, so they probably won't have to replace it.

We should know much more in the next 24-48 hours. The next briefing will be tomorrow evening.

I don't quite get where it was said after the launch scrub that there had been no way to test the process of chilling the engines to proper temperature for fueling.

Maybe I could almost imagine a statement that there had been no test: nothing would really surprise me about assumptions made regarding the old cobbled-together bits of SLS and related processes. But that there's "no way to test" does sound off the mark to me.

Anyway... looks like we're in that other mode at this time

the alternative.jpg
 
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