Will the Artemis 1 mission be able to take off in the next few days? Although the launch of NASA’s new rocket to the Moon was canceled on Monday due to a technical problem, a next launch window would be possible on Friday, according to the US space agency.
“We keep the option for Friday,” said Mike Sarafin, head of the mission, at a press conference, without wanting to go any further.
The NASA teams’ analyzes are due to resume on Tuesday to get a better idea of the time needed to solve the problems that have arisen, in particular with regard to one of the engines.
The launch, originally scheduled for 8:33 a.m. (2:33 p.m. French time) from launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, was canceled due to a problem with one of the four engines under the rocket’s main stage. .
“Caution is in Order”
“If we manage to solve this problem from the launch pad in the next 48 or 72 hours, Friday is quite possible,” NASA added, during a press conference. The space agency will have to make a new press point at midnight this Tuesday, French time, to announce if the date of Friday has been chosen for the launch.
This delay is not unusual in the history of space exploration. Given the content of the mission, which aims to test the equipment, before a manned flight, “caution is required”, explains Philippe Perrin, an ESA astronaut, at the microphone of BFMTV.
“We are not on an ordinary flight but on a test flight (…) The idea was not to do a particular mission but to calibrate the equipment,” adds the astronaut.
“We always prefer good decisions to postpone than the excessive audacity to go anyway”, abounds astronaut Jean-François Clervoy. Especially since the launch of this rocket, the most powerful in the world, is a first. “It’s completely normal for a first launch, a first machine and a first rocket of this size,” says François Forget, planetary scientist and director of research at the CNRS.
“You don’t light the candle on fire until you’re sure of your shot,” NASA chief Bill Nelson told reporters.
The first step to Mars
If liftoff does not take place on Friday, there is another window of opportunity on Monday, September 5. Then the possibility of takeoff is interrupted until September 19.
The mission is to propel the unmanned Orion capsule into orbit around the Moon, to verify that the vehicle is safe for future astronauts, including the first woman and first person of color to walk on the lunar surface.
This trip to the Moon is the first of several others that should eventually allow man to reach Mars.
Source: BFM TV
