The Artemis 1 stack – a Space launch system The rocket (SLS) topped by an Orion crew capsule – is expected to depart from Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida at midnight EDT (0400 GMT) on Friday. The duo will head to KSC’s Cave Vehicle Assembly (VAB) Building, traveling 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) in about 10 hours to the top of NASA’s huge vehicle tracked vehicle 2. You can watch at least some of the restoration live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA. The agency will provide internet coverage coverage (opens in new tab) of “rocket departing from launch pad and reaching VAB”, NASA officials wrote in a recent update (opens in new tab). Artemis 1 recently completed the “wet dress rehearsal”, a critical series of tests and simulations designed to help determine a vehicle’s readiness for flight. This success in the wet dress was fierce. The Artemis 1 team first attempted to mark the milestone in early April, but was hampered by several technical issues, including a stuck valve. Team members ended up rolling the stack back at VAB for repairs on April 25 and then sent it to the pad for another attempt earlier this month. The latest attempt did not go smoothly – a hydrogen leak was discovered during a refueling operation – but NASA officials he considered it good enough to start preparing Artemis 1 for takeoff. Artemis 1 will send an unmanned Orion on a journey of about a month the moon. The mission team is obviously looking forward to taking off in late August or early September, but an official target date will not be set until the SLS and Orion are fully inspected at VAB. As its name suggests, Artemis 1 is NASA’s first mission Artemis programwhich aims to create a sustainable human presence on and around the Moon by the end of 2020. If all goes well with Artemis 1, Artemis 2 will send a crew Orion around the moon in 2024, and Artemis 3 will launch astronauts near the lunar south pole about two years later. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or enabled Facebook (opens in a new tab).
