The new spacecraft SLS, which NASA will send to the Moon, will be launched today. The spacecraft, known as SLS – Space Launch System, will carry the capsule called Orion into orbit of the Moon. The mission, which will last 42 days in and around the moon, will be carried out without a crew. NASA’s new space launch system will launch today at 15:33 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Here is all that is known about the Artemis 1 mission:
NASA shared the eerie sound of black hole
NASA’s most powerful rocket ever
The spacecraft to be used for the Artemis 1 mission (SLS) generates about 15% more thrust than the Saturn V rocket, which sends astronauts to the Moon. It is known that the Soviet Union made more powerful rockets in the 1960s, but all test flights were unsuccessful. Currently SpaceX Falcon Heavy is the most powerful rocket flying. SLS will also take the crown from Elon Musk after launch.
First big step to Mars
The Artemis 1 mission will pave the way for astronauts to return to the surface of the Moon 50 years later. In the first test flight, an uncrewed Orion capsule will be sent around the Moon, and many technologies will be tested during the mission. The main goal of the Artemis mission is to place a gateway to orbit around the Moon and build a permanent base on the lunar surface. NASA’s Artemis 1 mission will form the basis of Mars missions planned for the 2030s.
Planned single test flight
NASA has a manned spacecraft launch plan in 2024; The only test flight, which was planned months in advance and for which large budgets were allocated, will take place today. Since no further test flights will take place (at least that’s the way it’s planned for now), NASA needs to learn everything it can during the mission, which will run until October 10.
It will go deeper than Apollo
Orion will be sent far beyond any spacecraft designed for humans, beyond the Moon. Even the Apollo astronauts did not travel such a long distance. It is said to travel 450,600 kilometers from Earth.
Exceeded budget for Artemis 1 mission
NASA’s new space launch vehicle was expected to cost $10 billion, but total spending has more than doubled to over $20 billion. This figure is for the rocket only. When the development cost of the other components of the Orion and Artemis program is added, the figure is; $93 billion by 2025. Elon Musk and SpaceX expect to develop Starship, a more powerful system with greater payload, at a cost of $10 billion or less.
Using familiar parts
Although the development phase of the SLS took a long time, its main components were not developed from scratch, already existing parts were used. Like the Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 engines that sent the Space Shuttle into orbit multiple times. More interestingly, the flight computer is powered by the same type of processor from 1998 that powers the obsolete G3 Macintosh Powerbook.
unmanned flight
We will see the fascinating view of the Moon and Earth through the eyes of a toy. A special version of Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa is installed on the capsule’s computer. How possible will it be to follow Orion’s systems with the voice assistant? NASA will test it. Voice control of the spacecraft we see in science fiction movies seems to happen very soon.
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