How to watch the launch of the Artemis I mission to the Moon

(CNN) — For the first time in 50 years, a spacecraft is preparing to launch its journey to the moon.

task Artemis I A Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft crew will lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on August 29 at 8:33 a.m. ET and 10:33 a.m. ET.

Although the mission does not have a human crew, it is the first step in the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and eventually land on Mars.

The Orion spacecraft will enter the farthest retrograde orbit of the Moon and travel 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles), further than any human-carrying spacecraft. A similar route will be followed by crews aboard Artemis II in 2024, and the first woman and next man to land on the Moon are scheduled to arrive at the Moon’s south pole in late 2025 on the Artemis III mission.

The agency will share live footage and coverage in English Spanish Before, during and after the launch of Artemis I on your website and on NASA television. The broadcast will begin at 12 ET when Supergold propellant is loaded into the SLS rocket.

The program included celebrity appearances by Jack Black, Chris Evans and Kake Palmer and performances of Josh Groban and Herbie Hancock’s “The Star-Spangled Banner” and The Philadelphia Orchestra’s “America the Beautiful” by cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

When the launch happens, NASA will hold a post-launch briefing, and later that day the agency will share the first images of Earth from cameras aboard the Orion spacecraft.

Orion’s journey will last 42 days around the Moon, before returning to Earth, traveling a total of 2.1 million kilometers (1.3 million miles). The capsule will land in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on October 10.

Orion’s on and off cameras will share images and video throughout the mission, including live footage of the Callisto experiment, which captures a mannequin array. Commander Mooney’s combos Sitting in the commander’s seat. If you have an Amazon Alexa-enabled device, you can ask it where the mission is every day.

Here’s everything you can expect before, during, and after launch.

Countdown to launch

The Official launch countdown It started at 10:23 a.m. ET on August 27.

On Saturday morning, Kennedy Space Center and support crews from various centers around the country were called to the stations. All teams associated with this mission reach their consoles, start the two-day countdown, and report that they are ready.

Over the weekend, engineers will charge the Orion spacecraft’s intermediate cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) — the top of the rocket — and the core stage, charging the batteries and making final preparations for the engines.

From Sunday night into early Monday, the launch team will discuss weather conditions and decide whether to “go” or “no go” to fuel the rocket.

If all goes well, fueling of the rocket’s core will begin eight hours before launch. Five hours earlier, the upper stage will start fueling. This group will fill and replenish the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that dissipate during the refueling process.

About 50 minutes before launch, a final briefing by NASA’s test manager will take place. The scheduled 30-minute countdown will begin 40 minutes before the start.

The launch director polls the board to ensure that all stations are turned “on” 15 minutes before takeoff.

At 10 minutes and counting, things kick into high gear as the spacecraft and rocket go through final stages. Most of the action takes place in the last minute when the ground launch sequencer sends the command to the rocket flight computer’s automatic launch sequence, which takes more than 30 seconds to launch.

In the last few seconds, the hydrogen will burn and all four RS-25 engines will start, resulting in boost firing and T-minus-zero takeoff.

Journey to the Moon

After liftoff, the rocket boosters will fly from the spacecraft for about two minutes before falling into the Atlantic Ocean, and other components will soon be removed. The rocket’s core splits off after about eight minutes and falls into the Pacific Ocean, allowing the Orion solar panel wings to deploy.

The liftoff maneuver occurs approximately 12 minutes after launch, and the ICPS will not re-enter Earth’s atmosphere as Orion burns to raise altitude. Shortly thereafter, a translunar injection burn occurs as ICPS Orion accelerates from 17,500 miles per hour (28,163 kilometers per hour) to 22,600 miles per hour (36,371 kilometers per hour) to escape Earth’s gravity and reach the Moon. .

After this burn, the ICPS will separate from Orion.

At approximately 4:30 p.m., Orion will make its first takeoff trajectory correction using the European Service Module, which provides power, propulsion and thermal control to the spacecraft. This maneuver will lead to the moon Orion.

Over the next few days after launch, Orion will pass within 96 kilometers (60 miles) of the moon when it approaches the moon’s surface on the sixth day of the mission, or on September 3 if it launches as planned. August 29. Orion will place the service module in a far retrograde orbit around the Moon on the 10th or September 7.

When it orbits the moon on September 8, Orion will break the distance record of 400,169 kilometers (248,654 miles) set by Apollo 13 in 1970. The spacecraft will reach its maximum distance of 450,616 kilometers (280,000 September miles) from Earth. 23 when it passes 64,373 kilometers (40,000 miles) beyond the Moon.

This is 48,280 kilometers (30,000 miles) more than the Apollo 13 record.

Orion will make its second closest approach to the lunar surface on October 3, coming within 500 miles (804 kilometers). The service module will undergo a burn-up that will allow the Moon’s gravity to pull it back to Earth.

Just before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the service module will separate from Orion. The spacecraft will travel at the top of Earth’s atmosphere at 25,000 miles per hour (40,233 kilometers per hour), and its heat shield will experience temperatures of nearly 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius).

The atmosphere will slow Orion to 300 miles per hour (482 kilometers per hour), and a series of parachutes will slow it down to 20 miles per hour (32 kilometers per hour) before crashing into the Pacific Ocean at 11 p.m. :53 am

Splashdown will be streamed live from NASA’s website, compiling footage from 17 cameras on the rescue ship and helicopters awaiting Orion’s return.

A landing and recovery team will pick up the Orion capsule, and data collected by the spacecraft will determine what lessons humans have learned before returning to the moon.