After 50 years, the United States is returning to the moon with an early Wednesday launch of Artemis I, a high-profile mission that has been decades in the making.
NASA teams proceeded to fuel the 322-foot Space Launch System rocket with liquid hydrogen and oxygen at 3:50 p.m. ET — just over nine hours ahead of liftoff. The Artemis I launch is scheduled to start at 1:04 a.m. ET Wednesday, giving NASA a two-hour window to send the rocket into orbit.
Weather for Wednesday’s attempt is at 90% “favorable,” according to NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems. The launch has been scrubbed and delayed four times this year — twice due to technical issues, once for a hurricane and once for a tropical storm.
“So far, everything is going very smoothly,” said assistant launch director Jeremy Graeber about an hour into fueling.
But around 9:30 p.m. ET, NASA reported an intermittent hydrogen leak on the rocket’s core stage. About half an hour later, launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson gave a “go” for the specialized “red team” to enter the launch pad to troubleshoot the issue.
The Artemis I launch will send a new, empty capsule around the moon for the first time in 50 years. This first test flight is expected to last for four- to six weeks and will end with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
The $4.1 billion mission will allow NASA to verify the capsule’s heat shield during reentry. If successful, four astronauts will be able to strap in for the next moonshot in 2024, which will be followed by a lunar landing of two astronauts a year or two later.
About 15,000 people are expected to crowd the Kennedy Space Center and thousands more are lining the beaches and roads outside the gates to see the launch of the most powerful rocket in the world.
50 YEARS LATER: US takes its first step back to the moon with launch of Artemis I
What is Artemis I?
Artemis I is the first part of the Artemis mission, with the goal of completing a lunar orbit. The mission debuts the Space Launch System rocket, also known as SLS.
The SLS will produce a maximum of 8.8 million pounds of thrust when it takes off on its first flight, “exerting more power than any rocket ever,” according to NASA.
The SLS rocket will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, flying farther than any craft built for humans, according to NASA.
The uncrewed Orion spacecraft, which is a larger and more complex successor to the Apollo craft, is stacked atop the SLS rocket. After liftoff, the Orion capsule will fly a 1.3-million-mile journey for roughly a month to the lunar orbit and back.
A successful return to Earth will let NASA determine if astronauts can be put in the capsule for a similar mission, known as Artemis II, in 2024. Then, Artemis III would put two astronauts on the moon’s surface a year or two later.
What are the Artemis missions?
The Artemis missions will land the first woman and first person of color on the moon, NASA says.
The purpose of the missions is to explore the lunar surface more than ever before and establish the first long-term presence on the moon, according to NASA. Scientific discoveries made on and around the moon will be used to prepare for missions to Mars — with the hope of sending the first astronauts to the Red Planet.
Why is there no crew on the Artemis I launch?
The purpose is to test the ship’s propulsion and navigation systems, and Orion’s life-support systems, according to NASA. Aboard the unpiloted spacecraft will be three mannequins.
NASA will put one mannequin in the commander’s chair and the other two in adjacent chairs to track radiation levels.
Back to the moon, again
The last time NASA sent astronauts to the moon was in December 1972, on the Apollo 17 mission — closing out the Apollo program.
The Apollo 17 mission was much shorter compared to the estimated duration of the Artemis mission. From launch to splashdown, the Apollo 17 mission lasted for 12 days, 13 hours, and 52 minutes.
Artemis I is expected to last from 26 to 42 days.
Contributing: Jennifer Borresen and George Petras, USA TODAY; The Associated Press