ARTEMIS PROGRAM

NASA discusses data from the successful launch last year of its mega moon rocket as part of the Artemis I mission.

The B-2 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi with the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Space Launch System is NASA’s mega rocket designed to launch astronauts to the moon in the Orion spacecraft and, eventually, on to Mars. | Fla. begins COVID vaccine appointment system]AdThe hot fire is known as a “Green Run” test. This is the eighth and, hopefully, final test in the “Green Run” test series needed to prepare the rocket for launch and really put the pedal to the metal testing its power and capabilities. If the final “Green Run” test goes well, it will complete an important milestone toward launch.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy will launch the lunar Gateway propulsion system and the habitation module, the foundation of the orbiting space outpost, NASA announced Tuesday. AdThe U.S. space agency’s launch services program will manage the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launch on NASA’s end overseeing the build, delivery and launch. NASA has selected Falcon Heavy to launch the first two elements of the lunar Gateway together on one mission! “The Falcon Heavy was chosen probably because the Falcon Heavy is less expensive and the SLS isn’t quite ready yet,” Forczyk said. That element is slated to launch on the second flight of NASA’s Space Launch System, the agency’s Artemis rocket.

The B-2 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi with the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. NASA officials said they were first reviewing all the data before deciding if another Green Run test would need to happen before the hardware is brought down to Kennedy Space Center for launch. The core stage built by Boeing will be used on the Artemis-1 mission, sending the uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the moon and back. Ad[RELATED: What to know about NASA’s final Green Run test of the Artemis rocket]The Green Run test is the eighth and, hopefully, final test in a series needed to prepare the rocket for launch and really put the pedal to the metal testing its power and capabilities. AdIf all goes well during the second try, the core stage will undergo some refurbishment and then be transported via barge down to Florida.

NASA’s rocket charged with taking the agency back to the moon fired its four main engines Saturday afternoon, but the test in Mississippi was cut short after a malfunction caused an automatic abort, News 6 partner Florida Today reports. The 212-foot Space Launch System core stage fired its four RS-25 main engines at Stennis Space Center just before 5:30 p.m. Eastern time, sending a plume of exhaust towering above the B-1/B-2 test stand. “Still have four good engines, right?”The engines fired for 12 more seconds after the exchange before an automatic, computer-controlled shutdown was called. Once complete, the core stage will be loaded onto a barge and shipped from Mississippi to a dock near the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC. The Boeing-built core stage, under development for nearly a decade, uses previously flown space shuttle main engines.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – The mega-rocket even more powerful than the Saturn V is coming together at the Kennedy Space Center and also NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. On the Gulf Coast Saturday, the Space Launch System is scheduled for a major engine test. The rocket is key to NASA’s Artemis program with plans to return humans to the lunar surface by 2024. And by the year 2024, NASA still plans on SLS and Orion sending the first man and next woman to the Moon. Artemis I would become the first launch from KSC launch complex 39B since 2009.

Pence announced the names of the first astronauts cadre to train for the next missions to the lunar surface under NASA’s Artemis program. Many of the astronauts already have spaceflight experience while for others a mission to the moon could be their first journey into space. Among those selected is astronaut Victor Glover and Kate Rubins, both who are currently on the International Space Station. Meet the following astronauts:Joe Acaba, astronaut class 2004Kayla Barron, astronaut class 2017Raja Chari, astronaut class 2017Matthew Dominick, astronaut class 2017Victor Glover, astronaut class 2013Warren Hoburg, astronaut class 2017Jonny Kim, astronaut class 2017Christina Koch, astronaut class 2013Kjell Lindgren, astronaut class 2009Nicole Mann, astronaut class 2013Anne McCLain, astronaut class 2013Jessica Meir, astronaut class 2013Jasmine Moghbeli, astronaut class 2017Kate Rubins, astronaut class 2009Frank Rubio, astronaut class 2017Scott Tingle, astronaut class 2009Jessica Watkins, astronaut class 2017Stephanie Wilson, astronaut class 1996You can read their biographies here. In addition to naming the first Artemis astronauts, Pence revealed a new space policy from the White House and officially renamed Patrick Air Force Base as Patrick Space Force Base.

The lunar Gateway -- a small space station around the moon-- is a key part of NASA’s Artemis program that will provide a location for spacecraft to deploy down to the surface of the moon with astronauts. | Shaq’s mansion discounted by $3M]NASA’s OIG is an independent organization and is performing several audits of the Artemis program. On Tuesday, the OIG released the first in a series examining the Gateway schedule, funding, costs, contract negotiations and technical risks. The PPE is at least 17 months behind its original completion date of December 2022 and HALO is two to five months behind schedule, according to the OIG report. With both of these elements needed for Gateway, the orbiting space station will likely not be in place for the first 2024 astronaut lunar landing.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – The most recent NASA Mars rover is about the weight of a compact car and jam-packed with science instruments and cameras. Astrobotic Technology, a Pittsburgh-based company, recently sent one of its CubeRovers to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to test out how the little wheeled-robot does on simulated lunar soil. A CubeRover, similar to a CubeSat or tiny satellite, is an affordable option for researchers to send mobile science payloads to the moon. When CubeRover is operational companies, governments and researchers can buy the space they need at $4.5 million per kilogram. Additionally, Astrobotic was awarded a $79.5 million CLPS contract from NASA to deliver 14 payloads to the moon on its Peregrine lunar lander in July 2021.

Bye-bye, moon -- The moon is slowly moving away from us. Not only does the Moon influence the oceans' tides, it’s the reason why we only see one side, because the Earth and Moon are so in sync. One of the spacecraft’s main goal was to make a 3D map of the Moon’s surface from lunar orbit to identify potential landing sites and resources. We know the shape of the solid surface of the Moon better than the shape of the solid surface of the Earth. It’s called “the Moon” because people didn’t know about other moons existing until 1610.

This week, a team led by Blue Origin developing a human lunar lander dropped off its mockup, under development at NASAs Johnson Space Center, giving the astronaut corps a chance train with the mooncraft for the six months or more. The National Team, which includes Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper, was selected by the U.S. space agency in April to design a human-rated moon lander. SpaceX and Dynetics were also awarded contracts to build human moon landing spacecraft. Blue Origin said in a news release Thursday the National Team delivered an engineering mockup to the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at Johnson Space Center. All the missions will liftoff from either NASAs Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.