from the if-at-first-you-don't-succeed... dept.
After several delays, we are going, eventually:
What's a few more days of waiting for a mission many years in the making? NASA's first giant step in returning humans to the moon could now take place on Nov. 14. On Wednesday, the space agency announced a fresh set of potential launch dates for its uncrewed Artemis I around-the-moon mission.
NASA will roll Artemis I back to out the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida as early as Nov. 4. The Nov. 14 attempt would mean a nighttime launch with a 69-minute window opening at 12:07 a.m. ET (9:07 p.m. PT on Nov. 13).
Artemis I involves an Orion capsule with no humans on board catching a ride to space on a powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The whole kit and caboodle has been out to the launchpad multiple times and stumbled through a series of wet dress rehearsals meant to simulate launch conditions.
[...] The Nov. 14 date isn't set in stone. A successful launch will depend on good weather and good behavior from the rocket's systems. NASA has already requested backup launch opportunities for Nov. 16 and Nov. 19 in case the earlier date doesn't work out.
If Artemis I takes off as planned on Nov. 14, it will spend just over 25 days on its mission to stroll around our lunar neighbor, testing Orion's worthiness to carry human passengers for Artemis II. That would put it on track to return to Earth for a splashdown on Dec. 9.
NASA is no doubt hoping this attempt will be the one that finally flies and ushers in the Artemis era in earnest.
(Score: 2, Offtopic) by Gaaark on Tuesday October 18 2022, @12:50AM
Will Duke Nukem be on board?
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday October 18 2022, @04:03AM (3 children)
Delay after delay, failure after failure, with more delays added on . . .
I get this feeling that Artemis will be the new worst disaster in the history of space exploration.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Tuesday October 18 2022, @01:57PM (2 children)
Just remember, doing stuff is hard.
(Score: 2) by jelizondo on Tuesday October 18 2022, @03:22PM (1 child)
Yeah, they are hard to do, particularly if you have MBAs instead of engineers [theatlantic.com] doing the work
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Tuesday October 18 2022, @04:01PM
I know. But maybe the senior people forgot that "doing stuff is hard" and that's why they installed the MBAs.
(Score: 3, Informative) by PiMuNu on Tuesday October 18 2022, @08:33AM (6 children)
Best of luck to them. Hope they make it this time.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday October 18 2022, @12:47PM (4 children)
I hope Starship reaches orbit first, but it doesn't look like they are going to rush it.
https://www.space.com/spacex-proceeding-carefully-starship-testing [space.com]
So the alternative is that SLS needs more delays.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 18 2022, @01:27PM (3 children)
Maybe Starship won't be like the "full self-driving" Teslas. But again it's the same Muskie to sell promises, so who knows?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday October 18 2022, @01:51PM (2 children)
European spacecraft converge on the US for rides on SpaceX rockets [teslarati.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 18 2022, @03:44PM (1 child)
Yeah, Europeans also converged to US bonds back before 2008. Millions of people can't be wrong, so fewer of them have to be right. Or so the fallacy goes, neh?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday October 25 2022, @06:31PM
SpaceX to launch Europe’s next deep space telescope, first asteroid orbiter [teslarati.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Tuesday October 18 2022, @06:00PM
I cannot wish them luck. I would if SLS weren't so outrageously expensive, over budget and late. It is now on the verge of obsolescence.
Conservative estimates put every SLS launch at $4 BILLION ? Seriousfully?
My honest, well intentioned best wishes for SLS, is that it blows up on the launch pad taking all its infrastructure with it. I say that as a US taxpayer. It would be good for everyone except maybe the cost plus contractors and certain senators who keep this pork flowing.
I do wish Blue Origin's New Glenn the best of luck. Although I'm not optimistic at present.
How often should I have my memory checked? I used to know but...