NASA said today it will wait until November to make the next attempt to launch the Artemis I test flight of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. Hurricane Ian forced the agency to roll Artemis I back to the safety of the Vehicle Assembly Building. NASA will take advantage of the opportunity to do a thorough checkout and skip the October launch period. A specific launch date will be announced later.
The iconic Hubble Space Telescope, repaired and upgraded five times by astronauts on NASA’s space shuttle, may be getting another visit. Today NASA and SpaceX revealed they are studying whether it is possible to send astronauts back to Hubble one more time on a Crew Dragon. If so, billionaire Jared Issacman may use one of his three Polaris missions to do just that.
The return of three Russian crew members from the International Space Station today as part of an ongoing crew rotation involving U.S., Russian, European and Japanese astronauts underscores again how the ISS partnership is an oasis amidst deteriorating terrestrial relationships. As Russian President Vladmir Putin is poised to annex part of Ukraine and the U.S. Embassy in Moscow advises all U.S. citizens to leave Russia, the routine do-si-do of ISS crews belies the grim geopolitical environment here on Earth.
The launch of NASA’s Artemis I Moon rocket is not the only casualty of Hurricane Ian, which is bearing down on Florida at this very moment. NASA also is postponing the launch of Crew-5 to the International Space Station and the United Launch Alliance is delaying the launch of two commercial communications satellites for SES. The Crew-5 and SES launches are expected to slip just a couple of days, but NASA may wait until November to try the Artemis I launch again.
A spacecraft smashed into an asteroid this evening. No worries, that’s what it was supposed to do. NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, tested whether the kinetic energy imparted during a collision could change an asteroid’s orbit. This asteroid, Dimorphos, the tiny moon of another asteroid, Didymos, poses no threat to Earth, but asteroids have plagued our planet in the past and this could be a method for deflecting them in the future.
With Hurricane Ian headed to Florida, NASA has decided to roll the Artemis I Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft back to the safety of the Vehicle Assembly Building. The 322-foot tall rocket is currently at Launch Complex-39B, completely exposed to whatever weather conditions Ian brings to the Space Coast. First movement is planned tonight at 11:00 pm ET for the 4-mile trip, which takes 8-12 hours.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of September 25-October 1, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session for part of the week.
NASA decided this morning to delay the launch of the Artemis I uncrewed test flight of the Space Launch System rocket because of Tropical Storm Ian which is gathering strength in the Caribbean and expected to hit Florida in coming days. The launch had been scheduled for Tuesday, September 27.
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.
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.