Artemis I Moon Launch Video and News: Live Updates from NASA
For astronauts to get to the Moon, they need a big rocket, and the Space Launch System is that rocket, the most powerful since the Saturn V took NASA astronauts to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s. What awaits in the platform to be launched Wednesday is 322 feet tall and will weigh 5.5 million pounds when filled with propellants.
It will be able to lift more than 200,000 pounds into low Earth orbit and send nearly 60,000 pounds of payload to the Moon. Its payload for this launch is Orion, a capsule that will not have a crew for this flight but can carry four astronauts.
The rocket, known as the SLS, resembles a stretched external tank used by the retired space shuttles, and the side thrusters that help it reach space closely resemble the engines used by the shuttles.
This is by design: To simplify the development of its new moon rocket, NASA reused much of the space shuttle technology from the 1970s. The rocket’s center stage has the same 27.6-foot diameter as the outer tank of the 1970s shuttle and is covered in the same orange insulation.
The four engines in the center stage are the same as the main engines of the space shuttle. The first three Artemis missions actually use engines that were pulled from old shuttles and refurbished. Since none of the SLS rockets will be used more than once, NASA will run out of old shuttle engines after Artemis IV. New engines will be needed for Artemis V and subsequent missions.
The side thrusters are longer versions of those used for Space Shuttle flights. During the shuttle era, NASA recovered and reused similar boosters. But for the Space Launch System, which will launch only about once a year, the agency decided it would be easier and cheaper to let the boosters sink into the ocean and use new ones for each flight.
The SLS second stage, which will propel the Orion capsule on a path to the Moon once it reaches low Earth orbit, is essentially a modification of the one used for another rocket called the Delta IV . A new, improved second stage will be used for Artemis IV, making the rocket even more powerful.
Orion spacecraft
A diagram showing the various components of the Orion spacecraft.
CREW module
It can hold four people
launch the abortion system
It can carry the crew module to safety if there is an emergency during launch
service module
Provides power and propulsion to the crew module
launch
abortion system
It can carry the crew module to safety if there is an emergency during launch
CREW module
It can hold four people
service module
Provides power and propulsion to the crew module
CREW module
It can hold four people
launch the abortion system
It can carry the crew module to safety if there is an emergency during launch
service module
Provides power and propulsion to the crew module
Development of the Orion crew capsule began in 2006 as part of Constellation, an earlier lunar program started under President George W. Bush. Constellation’s costs skyrocketed, and the Obama administration tried to cancel it entirely in 2010.
However, Congress rebelled against this decision, resulting in a revival of Orion and Ares V, the heavy-load rocket that was planned for Constellation, turned into the Space Launch System.
The Orion capsule is designed for journeys lasting several weeks in deep space beyond low Earth orbit. This means the vehicle, while larger than the Crew Dragon capsule that carries astronauts to the International Space Station, has slightly less room inside to make room for more robust life support systems .
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