It’s been more than a month after the initial set date of launch for the Artemis I spacecraft and its capsule, Orion. Meant to be a gateway for human exploration back to the moon as well as other celestial bodies, the Artemis program is scheduled to send humans back to the moon by 2024.
Artemis is a mashed together bunch of the Space Shuttle (1981-2011) and Constellation program. This first launch is the first step to put a man back on the moon in a much safer and modern way. The Artemis I rocket in particular is meant to orbit the moon as a test flight for much more to come. You’ve probably heard the news over the past few years about this project though. It already has problems.
The most recent problem Artemis I is facing is Hurricane Ian, as it was canceled and postponed a few days ago due to heavy tropical storms (later developing into a category 4 hurricane) near the launch site. Before that though, there were two other delays. One being a hydrogen leak and the other being an engine malfunction. NASA is already way over budget and schedule that this project is heavily doubted to be anywhere close to succeeding in 2024.
That said, I do sincerely think that NASA should be the one to make it to the moon, not SpaceX. NASA has been in this field for decades, and I wouldn’t want startup SpaceX to outrun them.
Wikimedia Commons: Photo Credit