A little while ago, NASA’s Orion spacecraft separated from the last stage, called the ICPS (Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage), of the Space Launch System (SLS), which blasted off almost two hours earlier from the Kennedy Space Center. The Orion entered the trajectory that will take it into the Moon’s orbit to carry out its mission which will last about 25 days. This is the first launch for the SLS and for the Orion in its full configuration. The ICPS also has the secondary mission of putting some CubeSat-class nanosatellites into orbit.
Over the next few weeks, the Artemis I mission will allow verifying that NASA’s Orion spacecraft works properly on its first real mission and for the first time in its complete configuration with the service module provided by ESA. Onboard the Orion there are three mannequins equipped with sensors to measure their status during the mission: Moonikin Campos, who has male features and was already used during the tests of the spacecraft, together with Helga and Zohar, two busts with female features. The mission of the Orion will also be followed on a visual level by a series of 12 cameras that will film the various sections inside and outside, and also offer photos and videos to the public.
The Artemis I mission represents a key moment in NASA’s plans to return to the Moon. The SLS was completed nearly 11 years after it was announced, piling up several delays. The controversy mainly concerns the costs of the development and also of the launches of this colossal rocket which has two side boosters about the size of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
The glorious Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo Moon missions was abandoned due to the enormous costs of launches and the SLS was supposed to significantly reduce them thanks to the mix of modern construction technologies and the reuse of the Space Shuttle RS-25 engines. Actually, there are conflicting data regarding the costs of SLS launches due to the different criteria used to calculate them but various estimates indicate costs of hundreds of millions of dollars per launch. It doesn’t help that the SLS is an expendable system, as it enters service at a time when new rocket designs include reusability.
NASA needs success to prove the validity of choices that are still made at the political level since programs of this importance are decided by the Presidents’ administrations with the Congress’s approval. The Artemis I mission will have no crew on board but will last until December 11 with a series of maneuvers to test systems in different Moon orbits, as illustrated in the bottom image by NASA. The Orion spacecraft will reach the greatest distance from Earth reached by a spacecraft built for crew transportation. Those are crucial tests for the development of the Artemis program which will lead to the return of humans to the Moon and the construction of the Lunar Gateway.
It took several attempts for the SLS to get off the ground but that can be expected with a new rocket. The first phase of the mission went well but Artemis I has just begun and for almost a month the Orion spacecraft will have to perform according to the complex travel schedule. Only if all goes well, will it be possible to proceed with the Artemis II mission with a crew.
