After years in development, the launch day of Nasa’s Artemis 1 Moon rocket is almost here.
The 101-metre Space Launch System will lift off from the Kennedy Space Centre on Monday, 4.33pm, UAE time, weather permitting.
It was raining on Merritt Island in Florida, also known as the Space Coast, over the weekend, with heavy cloud cover.
On August 27, the US Space Force’s weather forecast predicted a 70 per cent probability for launch on Monday.
There is a two-hour window, with back-up dates of September 2 and 5.
The event will be streamed live on Nasa’s website and social media channels.
Artemis 1 is an uncrewed test flight that will launch the Orion spacecraft around the Moon to allow engineers to measure its performance.
If successful, it will pave the way for crewed missions under the Artemis programme, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface.
Jim Free, associate administrator for exploration systems development at Nasa, said that the team was ready for a historic launch.
“All is well as we press towards launch on August 29. Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre is buzzing as the team prepares for the countdown, recognising Artemis I is a flight test and not without risk,” he said.
“Team has analysed the risk and mitigated as best they can as we prepare to send Orion spacecraft to the Moon.”
Why is Nasa going to the Moon?
Nasa was directed by the US Congress to develop the rocket in hopes that it would return American astronauts to the Moon again, after nearly 50 years since the Apollo programme ended.
The space agency has built the Space Launch System (SLS) with technology used in the Space Shuttle programme, for example the solid rocket boosters and RS-25 core engines.
Artemis 2, a crewed flight around the Moon, could take place as early as 2024 if this test flight goes as planned.
Artemis 3, the first human lunar landing mission under the programme, has been delayed until 2025.
What is Artemis 1 about?
On Monday, the rocket will lift off with 3,991 tonnes of thrust, soaring at speeds of 40,233 kilometres an hour in about eight minutes to reach space.
It will deliver the Orion spacecraft — the same capsule astronauts will ride in once crewed missions begin — to space.
From there, the spacecraft will travel 450,616 kilometres from Earth, thousands of kilometres beyond the Moon, over the course of about four to six weeks.
The flight will help engineers measure Orion’s performance, including its communications systems, heat shield and propulsion system.
It will fly about 100 kilometres above the lunar surface, and then use the Moon’s gravitational force to propel itself into an opposite orbit about 70,000 kilometres from the Moon.
Orion will stay in that orbit for about six days to collect data and allow mission control to assess its performance.
Orion’s return to Earth
Before returning to Earth, the spacecraft will do another close flyby that will take it within 96 kilometres of the lunar surface.
It will perform an engine firing, and use the Moon’s gravity, to accelerate itself back towards Earth.
This manoeuvre will help the spacecraft enter Earth’s atmosphere while travelling at a speed of 11 kilometres a second, producing temperatures of 2,760°C.
The spacecraft’s last test will be a landing off the coast of Baja California.
Divers from the US Navy and Nasa will inspect Orion before loading it onto the recovery ship.
