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Updated August 26th, 2022 at 21:02 IST

NASA's Artemis I rocket spotted from space ahead of August 29 launch to Moon

NASA's Artemis I rocket was photographed at the Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center by a satellite of Maxar Technologies.

Reported by: Harsh Vardhan
NASA
Image: Twitter/@Maxar | Image:self
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US-based Maxar Technologies shared a few pictures of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket which is standing tall at the Kennedy Space Center. The rocket will liftoff on August 29 under the Artemis I mission, NASA’s uncrewed quest to the Moon. The images, which were taken by the company’s WorldView-3 satellite, offer a bird-eye view of the 322-feet-tall rocket on the Launch Pad 39B. 

Check out the images below

“NASA is getting ready for the launch of the SLS rocket which is currently scheduled for August 29. Known as Artemis1, this will be its first test flight with an uncrewed Orion spacecraft”, Maxar wrote in its tweet. “Here is our satellite view from today, August 25, of the rocket at Launch Complex 39B”. In an emailed description to Space.com, the company representatives revealed that the second image was taken when the satellite was about 1,125 kilometers southwest of the space center. 

If everything goes according to plan, the SLS rocket will liftoff at 6:03 pm IST as the most powerful rocket ever built. Equipped with four RS-25 engines and two solid boosters, the rocket would generate 8.8 million pounds of maximum thrust. The rocket will be mounted with the Orion spacecraft that would eventually be used to carry astronauts to the Moon. 

Artemis I is the test mission that would determine the abilities of both the SLS rocket and Orion for future crewed missions. Interestingly, NASA is also sending ten CubeSats that would be used to perform different experiments in space and around the Moon. These experiments include measuring the effects of radiation in space and mapping the water composition of the lunar surface. 

According to NASA, Artemis I will last for a little over 42 days and will end with the splashdown of Orion into the Pacific Ocean. One of the most crucial stages of this mission would be Orion’s re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere when the spacecraft’s heat shield will be tested. This stage is crucial because the heat shield’s durability will ensure the safety of astronauts when they descend through the atmosphere at a speed of 6,800 metres per second.

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Published August 26th, 2022 at 21:02 IST

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