NASA has decided at least for now to continue plans to launch the Artemis I Space Launch System rocket on Tuesday, September 27, despite an ominous weather forecast. A tropical disturbance is expected to grow into a major hurricane over this weekend with the Florida peninsula in its sights. NASA needs three days to get the rocket ready to roll back to the safety of the Vehicle Assembly Building and make the 4-mile trip, so can wait only until tomorrow to see how the storm evolves.

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On Monday, a NASA spacecraft will deliberately crash itself into an asteroid to change its orbit just a bit. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test is just that, a test to see if it is possible to divert an asteroid’s trajectory. This asteroid poses no threat to Earth, but NASA wants to find out if this kinetic energy method would work if the day comes when it’s needed.

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NASA’s tanking test of the Artemis I Space Launch System rocket met all its objectives today, but it still experienced hydrogen leaks. One would have violated launch rules so it remains unclear if the rocket is ready for launch as soon as next Tuesday, the current target date. The agency also continues to await a decision from the Space Force on whether it must replace a battery for the Flight Termination System. Weather might be iffy, too.

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A Russian-American crew arrived at the International Space Station today. Until quite recently, a Russian-American crew would not be particularly noteworthy since joint crews have launched to the ISS on both Russian and American spacecraft since the very first mission almost 21 years ago. But in today’s geopolitical climate it is a testament to the strength of the ISS partnership as well as a recognition of the facility’s co-dependency on both countries to continue operating.

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The newest U.S. military service now has its own theme song. Gen. Jay Raymond, Chief of Space Operations for the three-year-old U.S. Space Force, proudly revealed it today at an Air and Space Forces Association conference. The title, Semper Supra, is the Space Force’s motto — Always Above.

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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope continues to produce astounding images, but NASA reported today that a problem has developed with one of the instruments, MIRI. An anomaly review board has been convened and observations using one mode of MIRI’s operations are paused, but the rest of the telescope is OK.

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NASA said today it is ready to conduct a tanking test of the Artemis I Space Launch System rocket on Wednesday. A main purpose of the test is to see if fixes made to repair a hydrogen leak during an attempted launch on September 3 solved the problem. They will proceed in a “kinder, gentler” manner this time. If the test goes well, NASA is targeting September 27 to try the launch again, but it also needs a waiver from the Space Force to launch without replacing a critical battery for the Flight Termination System. That answer is not expected until after the test.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of September 18-24, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.

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The UAE and China are working together on future missions to the Moon including a UAE lunar rover. This is the first space cooperation between the two countries. The UAE space program has been working closely with the United States, which is on the cusp of resuming its own lunar lander missions. The UAE is one of the original signatories of the U.S.-led Artemis Accords that sets principles for responsible behavior on the Moon, so the deal with China came as a bit of a surprise to the space community. …

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A year and a half after it landed on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover is hard at work studying an ancient river delta at Jezero Crater and discovering it’s not what scientists expected. The types of rocks reveal a complex geological past and some contain organic compounds in an environment that could have been suitable for microbial life. Most scientists do not think life currently exists on Mars, but might have eons ago. They are on a “treasure hunt” to find evidence, though a definitive answer probably will have to wait until the samples Perseverance is collecting are back on Earth. …

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