For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – NASA is targeting Monday Nov. 14 as the date for the next launch attempt of the Artemis I mission with a nighttime liftoff of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft on a test flight around the Moon and back.
The just past midnight nighttime launch window for Artemis 1 on Nov. 14 opens at 12:07 a.m. EST and extends for 69 minutes until 1:16 a.m. EST
NASA was forced to wave off the last Artemis 1 launch attempt period in late September and early October in the face of the impending devastating threat from monster Hurricane Ian as it was approaching the Florida peninsula including the Space Coast – and roll the 32 story tall stack back to the VAB processing hangar for protective shelter on Sept. 26/27.
They arrived inside just in the nick of time because Ian stuck Florida and weather was atrocious 24 hours later.
Initial inspections confirmed no damage inflicted by Ian on the SLS rocket and Orion crew capsule.
Ultimately Hurricane Ian caused over 100 deaths and widespread destruction and flooding across a wide swath of the state as it hit the southwest Coast near Fort Meyers and continued on a northeasterly track across much of central Florida to the east coast including vast regions around Orlando, the Space Coast and up to Daytona Beach and more.
After several earlier weather delays for Ian NASA had been hoping to launch Artemis 1 on Oct. 2 after successfully completing the critical cryogenic tanking test for the Artemis 1 Moon rocket on Wednesday, Sept. 21, after teams encountered another significant hydrogen leak near the start of the loading process engineers and then effectively resolved them in a timely manner at Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.
Back-up Artemis 1 launch opportunities are available on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 1:04 a.m. and Saturday, Nov. 19, at 1:45 a.m., which are both two-hour launch windows.
If Artemis 1 does launch on Nov. 14 it would result in an Orion spacecraft mission duration of about 25-and-a-half days with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean Friday, Dec. 9.
Daylight launch windows don’t open up until Nov.22 at 7:06 a.m. EST.
NASA technicians successfully moved the Artemis 1 Moon rocket back to inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) protective hangar Tuesday morning, Sept. 27, after starting the 4 mile trip from atop launch pad 39B late Monday evening, Sept. 26, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.
Since then, “inspections and analyses over the previous week have confirmed minimal work is required to prepare the rocket and spacecraft to roll out to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida following the roll-back due to Hurricane Ian’” said NASA.
“Teams will perform standard maintenance to repair minor damage to the foam and cork on the thermal protection system and recharge or replace batteries on the rocket, several secondary payloads, and the flight termination system.”
The Artemis 1 stack of SLS and Orion could roll back to launch pad 39B as early as Friday, Nov. 4.
We are targeting the next launch attempt for the #Artemis I mission to the Moon for Nov. 14.
Teams are on track to roll the @NASA_SLS rocket to the launch pad as early as Nov. 4. https://t.co/8B8TFHi9QZ pic.twitter.com/5ubXN1WgIT
— NASA (@NASA) October 12, 2022
NASA will make a decision after completing the repair and refurbishment work and FTS battery recheck and recharge work closer to the rollback date.
They will also recharge several of the CubeSat science experiment batteries and refresh the biological and space radiation experiments.
“Teams will replace the flight batteries for the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and the boosters, as well as the batteries for the flight termination system in the boosters and core stage,” said NASA
“Work will also include charging the CubeSats that are equipped to be re-charged and have elected to do so.”
“Inside Orion, work will include replenishing the specimens and batteries for the biology investigations riding within the capsule, as well as recharging the batteries associated with the crew seat accelerometers and space radiation experiments.”
NASA’s Artemis 1 SLS/Orion lunar test flight rocket remained at pad 39B following a pair of scrubs from launch attempts on Aug. 29 and Sept. 3.
NASA’s Artemis I flight test is the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems.
For a brief day in early September a darling rocket duo were standing simultaneously vertical at the sister pads Launch Pads 39B and 39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida – namely NASA’s Artemis 1 maiden SLS/Orion Mega Moon rocket and SpaceX’s record-breaking recycled Falcon 9 rocket hosting a payload of Starlink internet satellites.
Watch Ken’s commentary about Crew-4 & Crew-5 and Project Artemis, NASA SLS WDR demo test, NASA SpaceX Crew & Cargo Dragons and more
Oct 12: WFTV ABC News Orlando featured my commentary about NASA setting new launch date for Artemis 1 in mid-November and Dennis Tito, the 1st space tourist, plans to fly around the moon on a commercial SpaceX reusable Starship mission in a few years
Link to commentary about Dennis Tito mission:
Oct 5: Two Fox 35 interviews –
Live prelaunch interview on Fox 35 Orlando about NASA Crew-5 launch: ‘Whats’ the purpose of the Crew-5 mission”
https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/1126638
Post-launch interview with Fox 35 Orlando about successful Crew-5 blastoff to ISS on Oct 5
Oct 3: Interview with Fox 35 Orlando previewing the Crew-5 mission
Sep 27: Live interview on Fox 35 Orlando about why NASA rolled the Artemis1 moon rocket stack off pad 39B and back into the VAB as a safe haven from threat of Hurricane Ian approaching central FL and Space Coast and the launch date impact
https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/1123047
Sep 26/27: Watch my interview comments at WFTV ABC News and Fox 35 Orlando about why NASA has decided to roll $4 Billion Artemis1 moon rocket back to VAB protective processing hangar from pad 39B due to Hurricane Ian approaching and the launch date impact
WFTV ABC Orlando: https://www.wftv.com/news/local/brevard-county/nasa-move-artemis-1-rocket-vab-over-hurricane-ian-concerns/X5NFTUGF45DBBFDNCHX7MSYXTE/
Fox 35 Orlando: https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/nasa-to-move-artemis-i-rocket-back-to-vehicle-assembly-building-due-to-hurricane-ian
Sep 25: Update on Artemis 1 launch with my live half hour interview on WKMG CBS 6 Orlando with news anchor Justin Warmoth on ‘The Weekly’: “Artemis I: Explaining NASA’s latest repairs and the mission’s greater significance”
Sep 21/22: Watch my Artemis1 comments at WFTV ABC 9 Orlando about NASA’s successfully cryogenic tanking test for Artemis 1 moon rocket and whats ahead
Sep 21/22: Interview with Fox 35 Orlando about NASA’s successfully cryogenic tanking test for Artemis 1 moon rocket and whats ahead
Sep 21: Interview with Fox News MMR local station about NASA’s successfully cryogenic tanking test for Artemis 1 moon rocket and whats ahead
https://twitter.com/FoxNewsMMR/status/1572747493208915969
https://twitter.com/FoxNewsMMR/status/1572747493208915969
Watch Ken’s continuing reports about Artemis, SpaceX missions, SLS, Orion and NASA missions, SpaceX Crew and Cargo Dragons, SpaceX Axiom-1, JWST, IXPE, DART, Lucy Asteroid mission, GOES, SpaceX Starlink, Commercial Crew and Starliner and Crew Dragon, Blue Origin and Space Tourism, and onsite for live reporting of upcoming and recent SpaceX and ULA launches including Crew 1 & 2 & 3 & 4, ISS, Solar Orbiter, Mars 2020 Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, NRO spysats and national security missions and more at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Stay tuned here for Ken’s continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics.
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Upcoming and recent space events and talks by Ken Kremer & Jean Wright
Oct 5/14/19 from 7 to 9 PM Quality Inn, Titusville, FL: Join Ken and Jean for Artemis 1 and space mission and rocket launch outreach. Ask us anything. plus display our photos and space apparel items for sale
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