If the weather in Florida cooperates — and the outlook is bright — the United States will begin a new chapter in its long history in space travel today. A new vessel is then launched. It has to make a six-week voyage to the moon and back without a crew on board. If all goes well, humans may be able to set foot on the moon again in a few years. That last happened in 1972.
The rocket SLS is already waiting on the launch pad of the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. It is the most powerful rocket ever built. It is 100 meters high and weighs about 2.6 million kilos including fuel. At the very top is packed the craft that has to go to the moon, the Orion.
The launcher should start taking off at some point between 2:33 PM and 4:33 PM Belgian time. This is the ‘launch window’. If you are unable to leave then, there are opportunities to try again on September 2 and September 5.
After launch, the craft will circle the Earth for approximately 1.5 hours at a speed of more than 28,000 kilometers per hour. Then he accelerates again, the speed goes up to more than 36,000 kilometers to escape the gravitational pull of the earth. Then the long crossing to the moon begins.
The United States is getting help from Europe and Canada to return to the moon. On subsequent missions, the astronauts sit in the front part of the Orion, which was developed and built in America. The back is from Europe. This part provides electricity, among other things.
Artemis I
Today’s mission is called Artemis I. In ancient Greek myths, Artemis was the goddess of, among other things, the moon. She was the twin sister of Apollo. That was the name of the space program that took Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and ten others to the moon between 1969 and 1972. At Artemis II, around 2024, four astronauts will fly around the moon and back. At the earliest in 2025, with the mission Artemis III, humans should land on the moon again.
Today’s launch can be followed via live streams on the websites of the space agencies NASA (United States) and ESA (Europe).
Also read: Dress rehearsal for first woman and man of color on the moon: this afternoon ‘most powerful rocket ever’ takes off for space (+)
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