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  • NASA to review Artemis II test data as it eyes March launch

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    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — During a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, NASA officials said that due to a liquid hydrogen leak and other issues, they will be postponing the crewed Artemis II launch to the moon to no earlier than March.

    What You Need To Know

    • The liquid hydrogen leak and the bitter cold weather impacted many aspects of the test, NASA stated
    • The wet dress rehearsal is a prelaunch test to fuel the rocket; catch any issues and problems before launch

    NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya called the prelaunch test — called the wet dress rehearsal — a “critical milestone.”

    “The wet dress rehearsal we had last night was a critical milestone on the way to Artemis II. That was the reason we went to the pad was to do this test. It allowed our teams to test all the systems required in the in the all up configuration. I think it’s clear based on what we saw in real time, we’re now targeting no earlier than March for Artemis II launch,” he said on Tuesday afternoon.

    NASA officials said they will go over all the data and determine how the leaks and issues happened, how to fix them and then determine when the next wet dress rehearsal will be.

    During the 49-hour wet dress rehearsal of the Artemis II’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion capsule that started at 8:13 p.m. ET, Jan. 31, NASA encountered a number of issues.

    As NASA was pumping more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic fuel into the rocket on Monday, engineers discovered a liquid hydrogen leak in an interface that is used to route the fuel into the SLS’s core stage.

    A full Moon shines over NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, as it sits atop the mobile launcher in the early hours of Feb. 1, 2026. (NASA/Sam Lott)

    This caused the engineers to spend hours troubleshooting the problem, with one solution being to stop the flow of liquid hydrogen and allow the interface to warm up so the seals could reset, then re-adjust the flow of the propellant, NASA explained.

    “Teams have stopped the flow of liquid hydrogen through the tail service mast umbilical interface into the core stage after leak concentrations exceeded allowable limits,” the U.S. space agency stated.

    That section — interface of the tail service mast umbilical — was the same section where a leak was found during the Artemis I mission.

    During the press conference, Artemis II Mission Management Team Chairman John Honeycutt said the team of engineers took a pretty aggressive approach to do testing on the valves and seals and how much they can tolerate, calling the interface where the leak was found “complex.”

    “And when you’re dealing with high hydrogen, it’s a small molecule. It’s highly energetic. And we like it for that reason. And we do the best we can. And actually, this one (the leak) caught us off guard. And the initial things that we were seeing and the technical team felt like we either had some sort of misalignment or, or some sort of deformation or, or debris on the seal,” he said.

    Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis II launch director, said that some of the lessons learned during Artemis I were used for this upcoming mission, with some positive results.

    “We did make some changes, … but we did make some changes to several of the hydrogen components. I talked about the replenish valve. We had a leak there. We did a design mod. It worked great. We also made some changes. If you remember, from Artemis I, we also had changes in what I would call the back of the plate in the purge can and in the debris plate, we changed the flex hose design that comes into the back of that plate,” she explained.

    She said that due to the modifications, the teams did not see any liquid hydrogen leaks where improvements have been made.

    With the leaks postponing launches, Spectrum News asked if NASA would consider replacing the SLS rocket and Orion capsule with Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lunar lander for the Artemis III mission, slated for 2027.

    “So we are, of course, heavily partnered with Blue Origin and SpaceX and other, you know, super heavy lift launch vehicle providers that are integral to our architecture. So, we’re going to continue to partner with them and share learnings and implement and get them into our to our mission plans. So that’s certainly true. Changing commodity on SLS or changing the design that in that severe way is will probably disable the production significantly. And, you know, make a change. You expect the change. As discussed earlier, it’s hard enough for us to get into a flight-like configuration in a lot of these tests. And so now putting a big design square wave into it, I’m not sure would have the value that we’d expect. What we really want to do is let industry innovate on their own machines. And then when they’re ready to support our missions, we’ll cut them into the architecture and use them as we need to,” Kshatriya answered.

    In October 2025, then NASA acting Administrator Sean Duffy said NASA is considering Blue Origin and other companies to handle the task of returning humans to the moon’s surface because SpaceX’s Starship was behind schedule.

    Engineers were able to fill all the tanks, both in the core stage and the interim cryogenic propulsion stage.

    The wet dress rehearsal allowed NASA to load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants into the rocket, conduct a simulated launch countdown, and practice removing propellant from the uncrewed rocket.

    However, NASA reported another issue during the simulated countdown.

    “Engineers conducted a first run at terminal countdown operations during the test, counting down to approximately 5 minutes left in the countdown, before the ground launch sequencer automatically stopped the countdown due to a spike in the liquid hydrogen leak rate,” the agency stated.

    The leak was not the only cause of concern. On the Orion capsule — which will take NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialists Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen to a flyby mission to the moon — a valve associated with the spacecraft’s hatch pressurization needed retorquing, which took longer than planned.

    The valve had been replaced before the wet dress rehearsal started.

    NASA also stated that the bitterly cold weather that has swept through Florida recently had a hand in plaguing the test. Several cameras and other equipment were impacted by the cold, as well as audio communications dropping out for the ground teams.

    All of these issues have forced NASA to look at March for the historic launch.

    “With March as the potential launch window, teams will fully review data from the test, mitigate each issue, and return to testing ahead of setting an official target launch date,” NASA stated.

    The crew has been released from quarantine, where they have been since Jan. 21 in Houston.

    Delays are not uncommon for the Artemis mission, with the first one seeing several of them — liquid hydrogen leaks being one of the main causes.

    In fact, Artemis II was supposed to launch in 2025.

    [ad_2] Anthony Leone
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  • NASA says it detected leak on Artemis II moon rocket during testing

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    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — On Monday afternoon, NASA stated that its teams detected a leak on its Artemis II moon rocket during the wet dress rehearsal.

    In an update, NASA stated that its teams have been able to fill the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage.

    What You Need To Know

    • The leak exceeded allowable limits, NASA stated
    • The wet dress rehearsal of the Orion capsule and the SLS rocket has teams loading more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic fuel into the rocket, conducting a launch countdown and practicing safely removing the fuel from the rocket

    “Teams have stopped the flow of liquid hydrogen through the tail service mast umbilical interface into the core stage after leak concentrations exceeded allowable limits,” the U.S. space agency stated.

    NASA stated that by stopping the flow of fuel, it lets engineers conduct troubleshooting processes that were first developed during Artemis I in 2022.

    During three separate occurrences, NASA detected liquid hydrogen leaks on the Space Launch System rocket during the Artemis I mission.

    “Liquid oxygen continues to flow into the core stage, and liquid hydrogen continues to flow into the upper stage,” NASA stated about the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal.

    In a new update, NASA stated that fixing the leak has “proved unsuccessful”.

    “After teams temporarily resumed fast fill of liquid hydrogen operations into the core stage, initial steps to correct the leak proved unsuccessful. The leak rate at the interface of the tail service mast umbilical continues to exceed the allowable limits. Liquid hydrogen filling operations on both the core stage and upper stage are paused as the team meets to determines next steps,” NASA explained.

    It was stated during the live feed that at 3:48 p.m. ET that the core stage liquid hydrogen fast fill has resumed.

    In a 4:41 p.m. ET update, NASA stated, “NASA teams have completed filling the core stage of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with liquid hydrogen and transitioned to topping mode. … Engineers continue to watch the leak at the interface of the tail service mast umbilical, but the liquid hydrogen concentration in the umbilical remains within acceptable limits.”

    During one of the launch attempts of Artemis I, that there was a leak at that same section. 

    In another update early in the evening, the U.S. space agency confirmed that the rocket has been filled with fuel, but the teams are keeping an eye on the leak.

    “Engineers continue to monitor liquid hydrogen concentration levels in the tail service mast umbilical, where a leak was previously detected. Levels are currently stable,” NASA stated.

    The wet dress rehearsal of the Orion capsule and the SLS rocket has teams loading more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic fuel into the rocket, conducting a launch countdown and practicing safely removing the fuel from the rocket.

    Once the Artemis II stacked rocket is ready for launch, it will send NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut mission specialist Jeremy Hansen to the moon in a flyby mission.

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    Anthony Leone

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  • Looking back at the Artemis I mission

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    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — As all eyes are on the crewed Artemis II that will see the return of humans to the moon, it pays to look back at the challenges Artemis I had to overcome, such as liquid hydrogen leaks and two hurricanes.

    What You Need To Know

    • In 2022, NASA attempted to launch the uncrewed Artemis I mission many times, with either mechanical problems or Mother Nature getting in the way
    • Don Platt, director of Florida Tech’s Spaceport Education Center, explains what happened to the heat shield during the Orion’s re-entry
    • NASA explained that first Artemis I was a test of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule

    The crewed Artemis II will have NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialists Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen go to the moon for a flyby mission.

    But back in 2022, NASA attempted to launch the uncrewed Artemis I mission from Launch Pad 39B many times, with either mechanical problems or Mother Nature getting in the way.

    See the previous attempts right below.

    From the moment Artemis I launched the Space Launch System rocket and how Orion orbited the moon and returned in a splashdown, all looked OK. Except NASA engineers noticed that something was not right with the capsule’s heat shield.

    When Artemis I was re-entering Earth’s atmosphere at 25,000 mph (40,234 kph), a material called Avcoat that was on the heat shield did not work as designed.

    The Avcoat material is designed to protect a spacecraft from extreme temperatures by burning away as it heats up, instead of sending that heat to the capsule itself.

    And the temperatures the Orion experienced during re-entry was 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius).

    Instead of burning away during re-entry, the Avcoat broke up into chunks.

    Don Platt, director of Florida Tech’s Spaceport Education Center, explained what NASA saw.

    “Now what they saw with the Artemis I mission was that the erosion rate or how much of the material disappeared, as that got heated up and and went through the upper reaches of the atmosphere, was up more than they thought it would be. And, so of course, the problem with that is that, well, is there enough margin and why is it heating up more than we anticipated that it would? So that, of course, they had to go back to the drawing board then …,” he explained to Spectrum News.

    [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P5GNMXtHyU[/embed]

    NASA stated it has resolved the problem, but the issue with the heat shield was the reason why the Artemis II and III missions were pushed.

    Artemis II was supposed to be launched in 2025, and Artemis III was going to take off in 2025, but it was pushed back to 2026, with the current launch date being mid-2027.

    Platt said NASA used that time to improve on the heat shield.

    “NASA has spent time doing additional testing, beefing up the heat shield a little bit in places where it might need it. And, of course, they’ve had a couple of years to go through all of that and, make sure they are indeed ready to go now,” he said.

    Spectrum News reached out to NASA for comment and has not yet heard back.

    However, during a 2024 press conference, engineers and experts were able to re-create the conditions that the heat shield experienced during re-entry and developed a new method to be applied to the heat shield, said Amit Kshatriya, the deputy associate administrator for the Moon to Mars Program Office within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.

    Officials highlighted that had there been a crew inside the Orion during Artemis I, they would have been safe and comfortable during re-entry, even with the heat shield issue.

    NASA had previously stated that the purpose of the Artemis I was to iron out any issues that came up and that they were generally very pleased with how the mission went.

    And even though those issues have been ironed out, NASA is currently conducting a wet dress rehearsal on the Artemis II before sending up the four astronauts who will be the first humans to go back to the moon in more than 50 years.

    [ad_2] Anthony Leone
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  • ‘Rare arctic outbreak’ causes NASA to delay Artemis II fueling test

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    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — The “rare arctic” chill that has been sweeping Florida has caused NASA to push back its wet dress rehearsal of the Artemis II moon rocket, the U.S. space agency stated on Friday morning.

    What You Need To Know

    • It means the new date for the wet dress rehearsal will be early next week
    • The new earliest launch date is now Sunday, Feb. 8, but that is tentative

    “Over the past several days, engineers have been closely monitoring conditions as cold weather and winds move through Florida. Managers have assessed hardware capabilities against the projected forecast given the rare arctic outbreak affecting the state and decided to change the timeline. Teams and preparations at the launch pad remain ready for the wet dress rehearsal,” NASA stated.

    This means that the original wet dress rehearsal has been changed from Saturday, Jan. 31, to Monday, Feb. 2.

    This also means that the earliest launch date to send four humans to the moon will not be Friday, Feb. 6, but now no earlier than Sunday, Feb. 8.

    Scroll down to see the launch attempt dates for Artemis II.

    However, the new launch date is tentative and based on how the wet dress rehearsal turns out. The rehearsal is to test the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion capsule.

    The U.S. space agency explained what the testing of the Artemis II rocket will be like.

    “The upcoming wet dress rehearsal is a prelaunch test to fuel the rocket. During the rehearsal, teams demonstrate the ability to load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants into the rocket, conduct a launch countdown, and practice safely removing propellant from the rocket without astronauts inside the spacecraft,” stated NASA.

    Once the test is complete and if all goes well (include Mother Nature playing nice), then the Artemis II will see four people — NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut mission specialist Jeremy Hansen — go to the moon for a flyby mission.

    The quartet has been in quarantine in Houston since Friday, Jan. 23, 2026.

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    Anthony Leone

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  • SpaceX hits milestone after launching more than 11,000 Starlink satellites

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    CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — It was a chilly morning for anyone who stayed up late to watch SpaceX launch nearly 30 Starlink satellites launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station very early Friday morning.

    With Friday morning’s launch of the Starlink 6-101 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, more than 11,000 Starlink satellites are now in orbit around the Earth

    What You Need To Know

    • More than 11,000 Starlink satellites have been launched since 2019

    Going up

    This is only the fifth mission for the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster and all four of its missions have been Starlink launches.

    After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket will land on the droneship Just Read the Instructions that will be in the Atlantic Ocean.

    About the mission

    The 29 satellites from the Starlink company, owned by SpaceX, will be heading to low-Earth orbit to join the thousands already there.

    Once deployed and in their orbit, they will provide internet service to many parts of Earth.

    And we do mean thousands. Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been recording Starlink satellites and their launches.

    And according to his records, there have been 11,034 Starlink satellites that have been launched since the very first batch in 2019.

    But not all of them are fully operational. Or at all. Some are no longer in working order because of age, technical mishaps, or being directed to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

    Before this launch, McDowell recorded the following:

    • 9,573 are in orbit
    • 8,297 are in operational orbit

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    Anthony Leone

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  • FAA recommends 44 launches per year for SpaceX’s Starship

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    CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — SpaceX passed another milestone in its effort to bring its Super Heavy Starship rocket to the Space Coast.

    What You Need To Know

    • The report recommended that SpaceX could pursue up to 44 launches per year from Kennedy Space Center
    • This also includes 88 landings, 44 for Starship and 44 for the Super Heavy rocket booster
    • Super Heavy is the rocket booster part of the vehicle; the spacecraft is called Starship

    On Friday, the FAA released a 444-page “Record of Decision” on a final environmental impact statement.

    The report recommended that SpaceX could pursue up to 44 launches per year from Kennedy Space Center. This also includes 88 landings, 44 for Starship and 44 for the Super Heavy rocket booster.

    The agency previously released an environmental impact statement to allow up to 76 launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

    SpaceX would still need to complete mitigation work and get approval for a launch license from the FAA before those launches could begin.

    Some residents have voiced concerns about beach access or noise related to the launches.

    The agency acknowledged impacts on commercial flights, in particular, international flights, due to the need for ground stops and re-routing.

    The FAA also considered that launches could cost the National Parks Service revenue due to required closures of parts of the Canaveral National Seashore.

    And that sonic booms could expose some Brevard County residents to noise during late-night operations, but still stuck with the recommendations to approve.

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    Spectrum News Staff

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  • Blue Origin puts a pause on New Shepard launches to focus on the moon

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    NATIONWIDE— Space will not be a destination for paying customers for a while, at least not through Blue Origin.

    What You Need To Know

    • Blue Origin stated it wants to focus on its “lunar capabilities”
    • NASA has tapped Blue Origin and other companies for the Artemis III mission

    The company announced Friday that it would pause its reusable New Shepard rocket flights for at least two years.

    Those are the ones that sent passengers, including Katy Perry, Gayle King, Jeff Bezos, Michael Strahan, and William Shatner, above the Kármán line to experience weightlessness.

    The majority of the passengers have not been celebrities who went beyond the line to the edge of space, at 62 miles/100 kilometers above the planet’s surface.

    Blue Origin had run more than a dozen of those flights, with the most recent one having lifted off just over a week ago, on Jan. 22.

    The company stated it will shift resources to accelerate its “lunar capabilities.”

    “Blue Origin today announced it will pause its New Shepard flights and shift resources to further accelerate development of the company’s human lunar capabilities. The decision reflects Blue Origin’s commitment to the nation’s goal of returning to the Moon and establishing a permanent, sustained lunar presence,” stated Brett Griffin, director of Blue Origin’s public relations.

    In October 2025, then NASA acting Administrator Sean Duffy said the U.S. space agency is considering Blue Origin and other companies to handle the task of returning humans to the moon’s surface because SpaceX’s Starship was behind schedule.

    “Now, SpaceX had the contract for Artemis III. By the way, I love SpaceX and it’s an amazing company, but the problem is, they are behind. They pushed their timelines out and we are in a race against China. The president and I want to get to the moon in this president’s term. So, I’m going to open up the contract and I’m going let other space companies compete with SpaceX, like Blue Origin. Whatever one gets us there first to the moon, we are going to take. If SpaceX is behind and Blue Origin can do it before them, good on Blue Origin,” he wrote on X at the time.

    During a September 2025 media tour of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket facility in Florida, Spectrum News asked U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos, who is the chairman of the U.S. Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, if NASA had any backup plans if Starship was behind schedule.

    He only said that the only focus at that time was Artemis II, which will see four astronauts flyby the moon in NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft.

    Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander is set to have an uncrewed launch to land on the moon sometime in 2026, and the Blue Moon Mark 2 lunar lander will be taking humans back to the moon’s surface for the Artemis V mission.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Anthony Leone

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  • SpaceX hits milestone with more than 11,000 Starlink launches

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    CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — You might want to grab a light coat if you plan on staying up late to watch SpaceX launch nearly 30 Starlink satellites very early Friday morning.

    And more than 11,000 Starlink satellites have been launched. 

    What You Need To Know

    • More than 11,000 Starlink satellites have been launched since 2019

    The Falcon 9 rocket will send up Starlink 6-101 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, stated SpaceX.

    The launch window will open at 11 p.m. ET, Thursday, and remain open until 3 a.m. ET, Friday, which means SpaceX has during that time period to send up its Falcon 9.

    Currently, the liftoff time is 12:51 a.m ET, Friday. It was set for a Friday launch at 11:01 p.m. ET and then 11:24 p.m. ET. No word on why the liftoff time was pushed back.

    The 45th Weather Squadron gave a 95% chance of good liftoff conditions, with the only concern being the thick cloud layers rule.

    Find out more about the weather criteria for a Falcon 9 launch.

    Going up

    This is only the fifth mission for the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster and all four of its missions have been Starlink launches.

    After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket will land on the droneship Just Read the Instructions that will be in the Atlantic Ocean.

    About the mission

    The 29 satellites from the Starlink company, owned by SpaceX, will be heading to low-Earth orbit to join the thousands already there.

    Once deployed and in their orbit, they will provide internet service to many parts of Earth.

    And we do mean thousands. Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been recording Starlink satellites and their launches.

    And according to his records, there have been 11,034 Starlink satellites that have been launched since the very first batch in 2019.

    But not all of them are fully operational. Or at all. Some are no longer in working order because of age, technical mishaps, or being directed to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

    Before this launch, McDowell recorded the following:

    • 9,573 are in orbit
    • 8,297 are in operational orbit

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    Anthony Leone

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  • Central Florida man reflects on Challenger disaster 40 years later

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    ORANGE CITY, Fla. — Wednesday marks the 40th anniversary of one of the darkest days for NASA — the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

    All seven astronauts on board were killed when the shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after lifting off from Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 28, 1986. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Wednesday marks 40 years since the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on Jan. 28, 1986

    • Just over a minute after lifting off, the Challenger broke apart, killing all seven astronauts on board
    • Volusia County resident and space enthusiast Jeffrey Ault, who captured it all on his Super 8 camera, says he remembers the tragedy like it was yesterday


    Many people across Florida and the country watched as it all unfolded, including Volusia County resident Jeffrey Ault, who says he remembers that day like it was yesterday.

    Ault was one of many on the shoreline of the Banana River near Port Canaveral who were watching the launch live that day.

    He says he was the only person to have shot it all on a Super 8 movie camera.

    Although Ault says it was a memorable January day, it was for all the wrong reasons.

    Challenger crew members: Michael J. Smith, front row left, Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, Ronald E. McNair; Ellison S. Onizuka, back row left, S. Christa McAuliffe, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Judith A. Resnik. On Jan. 28, 1986, they lost their lives when the space shuttle Challenger blew up after liftoff. (NASA)

    Like many space enthusiasts, Ault says he followed the Apollo program and built rocket models ever since he was a kid. So, to witness a tragedy like the Challenger explosion was devastating for him.

    It was also his first time seeing a launch in person. 

    One thing that Ault says he remembers very clearly is how cold it was that day.

    He says the launch had been delayed several times because of weather concerns, and that he didn’t know whether it was going to happen.

    Even though the Challenger launch resulted in tragedy, Ault says a lot still can be learned from it to this day.

    “I think the space program — back with the Apollo program, the Space Shuttle program — brought Americans together, brought people from all over the world together,” he says. “And hopefully, as we move forward, maybe we could get some of that unity and positive feeling back throughout this country.”

    Ault says he will never forget the speech that then-President Ronald Reagan made in honor of those who died in the tragedy, and to remind Americans what astronauts put on the line every time they go into space.

    “You really have to give credit to the masterminds, the engineers who work on this, and then the brave astronauts that are putting their lives at risk for this travel,” Ault says. “And the Challenger taught us that it is very dangerous.”

    To keep their memories alive, the NASA Day of Remembrance ceremony is held every year around the time of the Challenger disaster. This year, it took place on Jan. 22.

    The event serves to memorialize the lives lost not only in the Challenger tragedy, but the seven astronauts who died aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, which broke up during re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003, and the three astronauts from Apollo 1, who died when a fire broke out in their capsule during preflight testing on Jan. 27, 1967.

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    Sasha Teman

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  • Central Florida man reflects on Challenger disaster 40 years later

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    ORANGE CITY, Fla. — Wednesday marks the 40th anniversary of one of the darkest days for NASA — the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

    All seven astronauts on board were killed when the shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after lifting off from Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 28, 1986. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Wednesday marks 40 years since the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on Jan. 28, 1986

    • Just over a minute after lifting off, the Challenger broke apart, killing all seven astronauts on board
    • Volusia County resident and space enthusiast Jeffrey Ault, who captured it all on his Super 8 camera, says he remembers the tragedy like it was yesterday


    Many people across Florida and the country watched as it all unfolded, including Volusia County resident Jeffrey Ault, who says he remembers that day like it was yesterday.

    Ault was one of many on the shoreline of the Banana River near Port Canaveral who were watching the launch live that day.

    He says he was the only person to have shot it all on a Super 8 movie camera.

    Although Ault says it was a memorable January day, it was for all the wrong reasons.

    Challenger crew members: Michael J. Smith, front row left, Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, Ronald E. McNair; Ellison S. Onizuka, back row left, S. Christa McAuliffe, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Judith A. Resnik. On Jan. 28, 1986, they lost their lives when the space shuttle Challenger blew up after liftoff. (NASA)

    Like many space enthusiasts, Ault says he followed the Apollo program and built rocket models ever since he was a kid. So, to witness a tragedy like the Challenger explosion was devastating for him.

    It was also his first time seeing a launch in person. 

    One thing that Ault says he remembers very clearly is how cold it was that day.

    He says the launch had been delayed several times because of weather concerns, and that he didn’t know whether it was going to happen.

    Even though the Challenger launch resulted in tragedy, Ault says a lot still can be learned from it to this day.

    “I think the space program — back with the Apollo program, the Space Shuttle program — brought Americans together, brought people from all over the world together,” he says. “And hopefully, as we move forward, maybe we could get some of that unity and positive feeling back throughout this country.”

    Ault says he will never forget the speech that then-President Ronald Reagan made in honor of those who died in the tragedy, and to remind Americans what astronauts put on the line every time they go into space.

    “You really have to give credit to the masterminds, the engineers who work on this, and then the brave astronauts that are putting their lives at risk for this travel,” Ault says. “And the Challenger taught us that it is very dangerous.”

    To keep their memories alive, the NASA Day of Remembrance ceremony is held every year around the time of the Challenger disaster. This year, it took place on Jan. 22.

    The event serves to memorialize the lives lost not only in the Challenger tragedy, but the seven astronauts who died aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, which broke up during re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003, and the three astronauts from Apollo 1, who died when a fire broke out in their capsule during preflight testing on Jan. 27, 1967.

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    Sasha Teman

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  • How the lessons learned from the Challenger disaster apply to Artemis rockets

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    NATIONWIDE — As NASA prepares for the wet dress rehearsal of its Artemis II moon rocket and capsule, many are noticing similarities between the cold temperatures this week and how they played a part in the demise of the space shuttle Challenger and its crew 40 years ago.

    However, an expert at Florida Tech explains why the cold weather should not impact Artemis II.

    What You Need To Know

    • A lot of lessons were learned after the Challenger incident
    • Get more space coverage here  ▶

    • 🔻Scroll down to watch interviews with Don Platt, director of Florida Tech’s Spaceport Education Center🔻

    The Artemis II will see NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut mission specialist Jeremy Hansen do a flyby of the moon in the Orion spacecraft.

    However, the wet dress rehearsal of Orion and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that is currently set for Saturday will see cold temperatures of 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 Celsius).

    Forty years ago on Jan. 28, the space shuttle Challenger blew up 73 seconds after launch, killing its crew. The explosion took the lives of Michael J. Smith, Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, S. Christa McAuliffe, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Judith A. Resnik.

    The explosion was caused when the O-rings failed at cold temperatures. The rings on the rocket create a seal to prevent exhaust gases from leaking.

    The O-rings were rated to be flown at 39 degrees Fahrenheit (3.9 Celsius) or higher. But when the launch happened at 11:38 a.m. ET, the temperature was at 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2.2 Celsius).

    With the chilly temperatures that are currently sweeping through the Sunshine State, many are worried about Artemis II’s wet dress rehearsal for Saturday and the earliest launch attempt on Friday, Feb. 06.

    However, Don Platt, director of Florida Tech’s Spaceport Education Center, shares how the lessons learned after the Challenger incident were already applied to other shuttle missions, which do impact Artemis II.

    “Well, even in the shuttle program itself, there was about a three-and-a-half-year delay or so, after the Challenger disaster, and so that time was spent reviewing the entire shuttle program, but specifically reviewing these these segment joints that I just talked about and redesigning how the O-rings, these rubber seal material segments fit into that joint. And they added additional redundancy, essentially another layer,” Platt said.

    He continued how these improvements are still being used.

    “Now, of course, you know, after these 40 years, NASA has spent a lot of time looking at ways to improve the joint and materials have, of course, come a long way since the 1980s as well. And so now the the feeling is that the SLS solid rocket booster joints are robust and will not be a major concern at temperatures even down into the 30s and 20s,” Platt shared.

    He explained that with crewed missions, where humans will be on board a spacecraft, extra caution takes place, especially during wet dress rehearsals.

    And this caution goes beyond the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule. It also includes other things.

    [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7XHOPa2x0U[/embed]

    “And all of the components that connect to the rocket to provide propellent into the rocket and to provide electrical power, to make sure that all the interfaces for when the astronauts take the elevator up into the top of the rocket, all of that stuff is working fine and everybody knows exactly what they’re doing,” he said, adding, “You don’t want to have some sort of thing pop up there when they’re actually ready to go and and ready to get into the vehicle and and fly to the moon.”

    In many ways, the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022 was a wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis II, Platt said. It was during this test flight of the Orion capsule that an issue with the heat shield was discovered.

    A material called Avcoat that was on the heat shield broke off in chunks during the re-entry phase of Artemis I.

    The Avcoat material is designed to protect a spacecraft from extreme temperatures by burning away as it heats up, instead of sending that heat to the capsule itself.

    However, during re-entry, it broke up into chunks instead of burning away. This issue pushed back the Artemis II and III missions, but NASA has stated it has resolved the problem.

    Platt shared how the Artemis missions will have a profound impact on people.

    [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9jmlwQzsK8[/embed]

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  • NASA sets date for Artemis II fueling test

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    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — NASA has set the date when it will conduct a fueling test for its Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft that will take four people to the moon.

    What You Need To Know

    • Artemis II will see four astronauts flyby the moon
    • A wet dress rehearsal simulates the launch of the Artemis II moon rocket
    • If an issue is discovered, it may push back the launch

    The U.S. space agency is considering Saturday, Jan. 31, as the earliest date for its wet dress rehearsal, which will simulate the launch of the Artemis II moon rocket.

    “The upcoming wet dress rehearsal is a prelaunch test to fuel the rocket. During the rehearsal, teams demonstrate the ability to load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants into the rocket, conduct a launch countdown, and practice safely removing propellant from the rocket without astronauts inside the spacecraft,” stated NASA in a blog.

    There will be several test runs of this simulated launch that will test the Artemis II team’s ability to put a hold on the launch and resume it.

    “The rehearsal will count down to a simulated launch at 9 p.m. EST, but could run to approximately 1 a.m. if needed. The first run will begin approximately 49 hours before launch when launch teams are called to their stations, to 1 minute 30 seconds before launch, followed by a planned three-minute hold and then countdown resumption to 33 seconds before launch — the point at which the rocket’s automatic launch sequencer will control the final seconds of the countdown,” explained NASA.

    If the team detects any issues or anomalies with either the rocket or capsule, the two craft will be rolled from their home on Launch Pad 39B to the Vehicle Assembly Building for work. They were rolled to the launch pad on Saturday, Jan. 17.

    This would also push back the launch if they are rolled back. At the moment, NASA is aiming for a Friday, Feb. 06, launch.

     

    NASA also addressed the cold snap that has attacked the Sunshine State this week.

    “With cold weather sweeping the country and lower than normal temperatures expected in Florida Tuesday, Jan. 27, technicians are taking steps to ensure environmental control systems keeping Orion and SLS elements at the proper conditions are prepared for the cold,” the American space agency stated.

    NASA also revealed that the Artemis II emergency egress system (where baskets will take crew and launch pad personnel from the mobile launcher to the ground) did not work as expected, but has been resolved.

    “… the baskets used to transport the crew and other pad personnel from the mobile launcher in an emergency stopped short of the terminus area located inside the pad perimeter. Since then, the brakes of the system have been adjusted to ensure the baskets fully descend,” NASA commented.

    Artemis II will see four people — NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut mission specialist Jeremy Hansen — go to the moon for a flyby mission.

    The first Artemis I mission in 2022, where the uncrewed rocket and capsule were tested, saw a number of delays.

    It was originally expected to launch on Aug. 29, 2022, but a liquid hydrogen leak and temperature issues with the engine forced the first attempt to be scrubbed.

    A second attempt was scrubbed as a separate liquid hydrogen leak was discovered.

    After other issues and two hurricanes, NASA was not able to launch Artemis I until November of that year.

    It is not uncommon for rockets, even established ones like SpaceX’s Falcon 9, to be sent back for repairs or adjustments after testing has shown that issues were detected.

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  • Titusville’s American Space Museum to auction off NASA rocket engine

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    TITUSVILLE, Fla. — Who wants a NASA rocket engine? Or signed items from astronauts of the Apollo missions? How about a lunar-dust-stained checklist?

    It can all be yours at Titusville’s American Space Museum’s online auction. 

    What You Need To Know

    • There are a lot of various items up for auction, with many from the Apollo missions

    The online auction started on Sunday, Jan. 25, and it will end on Valentine’s Day.

    One of the items up for bid is a NASA Rocketdyne S-3D rocket engine. This particular engine was not used for any of the early Mercury or Apollo missions. It was used for ballistic missiles.

    Some of the other items include:

    • Things signed by Apollo astronauts
    • Items flown on Apollo missions, like the American flag on the Apollo 15 mission
    • Patches from John Young’s space suit from when he was the command module pilot of Apollo 10
    • An Apollo 17 checklist that is stained with lunar dust, signed by Cmdr. Gene Cernan
    • You can see more items with additional information here

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    Anthony Leone

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  • SpaceX’s launch of U.S. Space Force GPS satellite pushed back

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    CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — SpaceX’s launch of a U.S. Space Force GPS satellite has been pushed back. 

    What You Need To Know

    • The Falcon 9 rocket will send up GPS III-9 mission

    The Falcon 9 rocket will send up GPS III-9 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, stated SpaceX. 

    The launch window will open at 11:34 p.m. ET, Monday, and close at 12:09 a.m. ET on Tuesday. 

    So, SpaceX needs to launch this satellite during that timeframe.

    It was originally going to launch at those times on Sunday going into Monday.

    There has been no word as to why the launch has been pushed back. 

    If the launch is scrubbed, the next attempt will be at 11:38 p.m. ET, Tuesday, stated SpaceX.

    Find out more about the weather criteria for a Falcon 9 launch.

    Taking the fifth

    This will be the fifth mission for the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster B1096.

    It has experience launching all types of satellites.

    After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket will land on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas that will be in the Atlantic Ocean.

    About the mission

    The satellite, officially called Global Positioning System (GPS) III Space Vehicle (SV)09, is named in honor of Col. Ellison Onizuka, who was a U.S. Air Force test pilot and a mission specialist on the space shuttle Challenger mission that blew up, stated the U.S. Space Force.

    On Thursday, NASA held a Day of Remembrance for fallen astronauts.

    The U.S. Space Force shared the following about the satellite.

    “GPS III satellites, equipped with M-Code technology, provide the warfighter with a significantly more accurate and jam-resistant capability. Adding another such satellite to the constellation enhances the system’s robustness and ultimately boosts the warfighting lethality of the Joint Force,” it stated.

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    Anthony Leone

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  • NASA Day of Remembrance solemn time to reflect on lost astronauts

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    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — Hundreds gather underneath the space shuttle Atlantis attraction at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Thursday, as NASA paid tribute to the 17 astronauts who were killed in three separate tragedies over the years.

    What You Need To Know

    • Family members came to honor their loved ones

    • A ceremony was held where their memories and service to our country in America’s pursuit of space exploration were honored
    • Get more space coverage here  ▶
    • 🔻Scroll down to see the photo gallery🔻

    A ceremony was held where their memories and service to our country in America’s pursuit of space exploration were honored.

    Reflecting on who was lost, and why most believe the country should continue reaching for the stars.

    Twenty-five astronauts and test pilots have died since the U.S. space program began in 1958.

    Three tragic accidents happened over the decades.

    The Apollo 1 launch pad fire killed three astronauts, Roger Chaffee, Virgil ‘Gus’ Grissom and Edward White II on Jan. 27, 1967, at then Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It has since been renamed the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

    The crew of the space shuttle Challenger were killed when the orbiter broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff from Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 28, 1986.

    Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnick and teacher Christa McAuliffe perished.

    On Feb. 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia accident claimed the lives of the seven-member crew: Cmdr. Rick Husband, pilot William McCool, mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown and payload specialist Ilan Ramon.

    The orbiter was destroyed over Texas on its way home.

    Alison Smith Balch is the daughter of space shuttle Challenger crew member Michael Smith.

    Forty years later, Smith Balch, her family and others, were here to honor their sacrifice so many years ago.

    “It’s great that our family members are remembered. The way they died was unique because so many people truly are part of the story that was that day,” she told Spectrum News.

    “Daily, daily, it doesn’t go away, he doesn’t go away, he’s still in my heart always, has always been, many, many years,” says Jane Smith Walcott, Smith’s widow.

    Family laid a wreath at the Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Space Mirror Memorial, which is emblazoned with the names of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

    Guests placed flowers in honor of the heroes who died to help further America’s exploration of space.

    A somber day as the U.S. presses on to return to the moon once again and, eventually, to Mars.

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    Greg Pallone

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  • Blue Origin launches New Shepard NS-38 manned mission

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    TEXAS — After a couple of delays, including unauthorized people on the launch site, Blue Origin sent up six people on its New Shepard rocket.

    What You Need To Know

    • The six are part of the NS-38 mission

    The six are part of the NS-38 mission, Blue Origin’s crewed mission, which took off at 11:25 a.m. ET from Launch Site One in West Texas, stated the Washington-state company.

    All six climbed onboard the R.S.S. First Step spacecraft, and after the launch and stage separation happened, they experienced zero gravity for a couple of minutes before returning to Earth as three parachutes deployed.

    But before the launch, there was a hold while security was collecting people who were not authorized to be on the range. 

    “We are at a hold at just under 3 minutes until launch. We do have an update for you, and that is that there are unauthorized personnel on the range. Our security is currently working to clear that and then we will have NS-38 ready to go across the Karman line,” said Tabitha Lipkin, senior content producer at Blue Origin, during the livestream.

    They traveled beyond the Kármán line, the internationally established edge of space at 62 miles/100 kilometers above Earth’s surface.

    Just like SpaceX rockets, the New Shepard is designed to land autonomously, and the booster touched down on a landing pad.

    Before the stage separation, the rocket booster was going about 2,000 mph/3,218 kph.

    Meeting the crew

    The crew was made up of Tim Drexler, Linda Edwards, Alain Fernandez, Alberto Gutiérrez, Jim Hendren, and Dr. Laura Stiles, Blue Origin’s director of New Shepard Launch Operations.

    Andrew Yaffe was originally going to be part of the launch, but had to back out, according to Blue Origin.

    “Blue Origin today announced that one of our NS-38 crew members is no longer able to fly due to illness and will fly on a future mission,” Blue Origin stated on Tuesday.

    Once back on the ground, Stiles said through tears that it was an incredible experience to witness the Earth and moon from space.

    You can learn more about the crew right here.

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    Anthony Leone

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  • Crew-11 avoids details of medical episode that cut mission short

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    JOHSON SPACE CENTER — During a Wednesday afternoon press conference, the Crew-11 members talked about some of their experiments, but the focus was on the unnamed astronaut who had an unknown medical issue that cut the mission short by a month.

    What You Need To Know

    • Crew-11 and NASA would not identify the astronaut or what the medical issue was.

    “Just to start off, of course, we are back here a little earlier than we were expecting. And just to say up front, we are not going to be identifying the crew member or talking through the differential or any of the details of the medical situation. Thank you so much for respecting our privacy,” Cmdr. Zena Cardman said to the media at the start of the press conference.

    She and fellow NASA astronaut and pilot Michael Fincke, and mission specialists Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov spoke about some of the work they did.

    Almost a week ago, on Thursday, the quartet splashed down in the first medical evacuation in the International Space Station’s 25 years of full service.

    The health episode, which NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman called a “serious medical condition” last week, caused the U.S. space agency to cut the Crew-11 mission short.

    It was set to end in February. The astronauts spent five months on the space station after they were launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in August 2025.

    The medical episode happened the day before a scheduled six-hour spacewalk, where Fincke and Cardman were going to install a modification kit and cables for a future rollout of a solar array on Thursday, Jan. 08.

    Officials stated this was not an emergency de-orbit.

    During a question-and-answer session, Cardman called the shortened mission an “unexpected timeline.”

    “I hope to go back to the ISS for so many reasons. It’s just an incredible experience and I think even though we had an unexpected timeline, there’s so much that we are proud of and so much we did accomplish,” she told Spectrum News.

    But she said that their training served them well during the medical event.

    “As far as things we would do differently, I am very proud to say that we were as well prepared as we possibly could be, and that’s thanks to a lot of really excellent training that we get on the ground. And just being up there with really excellent operators and people who come together as a team really goes a long way. And that’s the crew on orbit as well as our ground support teams,” Cardman explained to Spectrum News.

    She highlighted the research that they conducted and how a lot of cargo came and went from the floating laboratory.

    In a question from another member of the press, Fincke revealed that the International Space Station’s ultrasound equipment was used during the medical episode.

    “And having a portable ultrasound machine helped us in this situation. … So, when we had this emergency, the ultrasound machine came in super handy. So, I’d recommend a portable ultrasound machine in the future for sure, for all space flights. It really helped,” he said.

    In a separate news article, Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta, vice chairman of the University of Central Florida’s Aerospace Medicine and associate professor of medicine, shared how each mission on the space station has an astronaut who is assigned as a crew medical officer.

    He went into detail about the type of training and medical equipment.

    Despite everything that has happened, Fincke said that even though Crew-11 will not be on the space station when Crew-12 arrives, they will still share greetings and advice on Earth.

    “Yeah, we wouldn’t want Crew-12 to hit the ground running or hit the space floating, something like that,” he said, adding, “I think my only advice to them, just as we did with  the change of command ceremony, was take time and stop for a group hug.”

    With Cardman chiming in, “Group hugs and selfies.”

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    Anthony Leone

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  • NASA rolls out SLS rocket for Artemis II moon mission

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    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER —  More than 1,000 people came out to see NASA roll out its Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket as it made its slow march to the launch pad during the chilly early morning hours on Saturday.  

    What You Need To Know

    • The SLS is a super-heavy rocket that is 322 feet tall (98.27 meters)
    • The Artemis II mission will see four humans flying by the moon
    • It will begin its slow 4-mile ground journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

    The SLS is a super-heavy rocket that is 322 feet tall (98.27 meters), making it 17 feet (5.18 meters) taller than the Statue of Liberty, according to NASA.

    To put it into perspective for space lovers:

    At 7 a.m. ET., the SLS rocket and Orion capsule took a ride on a crawler transporter as it began its slow 4-mile ground journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

    And yes, it was a slow trip, moving at 1 mile per hour or less. Between unscheduled stops and other factors, it could take between six and 12 hours before it arrives at the launch pad — its home until the planned February 2026 launch. 

    Once it arrives at its temporary home, it will have its wet dress rehearsal, which is scheduled to take place either at the end of January or the start of February.

    The purpose of the wet dress rehearsal is to test each phase of the launch countdown, from loading more than 700,000 gallons of super-cold fuel into the rocket to safely standing down from a liftoff attempt.  

    And that fuel isn’t something you can find at your local gas station.

    “The liquid oxygen tank and liquid hydrogen tank hold a combined 733,000 gallons of propellant super cooled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit to power the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the rocket,” NASA explained.

    Sitting on top of the SLS rocket is the Orion capsule, which will carry its human crew to their 10-day mission to the moon.

    It will send NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut mission specialist Jeremy Hansen to the moon, the first time humans visited the rocky satellite since 1972.

    Glover will be the first Black man and Koch will be the first woman to fly to the moon. 

    During a press conference on Saturday morning, the four shared a stage with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.

    Isaacman said that the Artemis II mission will fulfill more than one promise.

    “Why are we doing this? We are doing this to fulfill a promise, promise to the American people that we will return to the moon, a promise to all of the pioneers, the engineers, the scientists, the astronauts, the researchers from the 1960s, which the laid the foundation that we are that we are standing upon right now. We’ll do it inevitably to figure out the orbital and lunar economy for all of the science and discovery possibilities that are out there to inspire my kids, your kids, kids all around the world to want to grow up and contribute to this unbelievable endeavor that we’re on right now,” he said.

    Koch also echoed some of what Isaacman said, as well as adding some of the things the mission will focus on.

    “One of the reasons that these missions are so important is the discovery and the knowledge that we bring back to Earth, and that is the entire point. We have both lunar geology science, and we have human research on this mission. Human research is that we’re participating in everything from how we can top perform behavioral health, immune response in space, which is a fascinating physiological response that humans have to microgravity,” she said.

    During the press conference, Hansen said that America’s exploration of space has paved the way for other countries, such as Canada, to develop their own skills.

    “I’ve really applauded the American space leadership because they carved out space for Canada to hone some of our skills, to develop workforce in specific areas, and to bring that knowledge. And the future for Canada kind of looks like where the international collaboration wants to go. We aren’t leading that collaboration. NASA is leading that collaboration, inviting our participation. We have skill sets, and I know Canada will rise to the challenge, just like they did in the Artemis. When we were asked to join Artemis, we started to lean into developing new robotic systems for deep space,” he said.

    While discussing how close they have become, Wiseman also shared that they will have the easiest job on launch day.

    “While we’re up there on launch day, we’ve got the easiest job. We really have the easiest job. We’ve trained for this. We know exactly what to do and it will be good. It’s our families that we think about the most on launch day,” he said.

    This will be a flyby mission, as seen in this NASA graphic for Artemis II.

    NASA is aiming for a Feb. 6 launch, but it can be pushed back to April. The U.S. space agency explained why.

    “While the Artemis II launch window opens as early as Friday, Feb. 6, the mission management team will assess flight readiness after the wet dress rehearsal across the spacecraft, launch infrastructure, and the crew and operations teams before selecting a launch date,” NASA stated.

    As John Honeycutt, NASA’s Artemis II mission management team chair, said during a Friday afternoon press conference, “We will fly when we are ready.”

    The U.S. space agency has named the mission to return to Earth’s lunar neighbor Artemis, as a homage to the Apollo moon landing. In Greek mythology, Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo and the goddess of the moon.

    NASA plans to send humans (including the first woman and person of color) back to the moon in 2027, more than 50 years after the last time humans stepped on the lunar surface.

    The Artemis I launch took place in 2022 to test out the new systems and how they would handle going to the moon and back.

    Learn about the crew

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    Anthony Leone

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  • NASA to roll out SLS rocket Saturday for Artemis II moon mission

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    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — During the early morning hours of Saturday, NASA will begin the Artemis II’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s slow roll to the launch pad.

    What You Need To Know

    • The SLS is a super-heavy rocket that is 322 feet tall (98.27 meters)
    • The Artemis II mission will see four humans flying by the moon
    • It will begin its slow 4-mile ground journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

    The SLS is a super-heavy rocket that is 322 feet tall (98.27 meters), making it 17 feet (5.18 meters) taller than the Statue of Liberty, according to NASA.

    To put it into perspective for space lovers:

    At 7 a.m. ET., the SLS rocket and Orion capsule will take a ride on a crawler transporter as it begins its slow 4-mile ground journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

    And yes, it will be a slow trip, moving at 1 mile per hour or less. Between unscheduled stops and other factors, it could take between six and 12 hours before it arrives at the launch pad — its home until the planned February 2026 launch. 

    Once it arrives at its temporary home, it will have its wet dress rehearsal, which is scheduled to take place at the end of January.

    The purpose of the wet dress rehearsal is to test each phase of the launch countdown, from loading more than 700,000 gallons of super-cold fuel into the rocket to safely standing down from a liftoff attempt.  

    And that fuel isn’t something you can find at your local gas station.

    “The liquid oxygen tank and liquid hydrogen tank hold a combined 733,000 gallons of propellant super cooled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit to power the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the rocket,” NASA explained.

    Sitting on top of the SLS rocket is the Orion capsule, which will carry its human crew to their 10-day mission to the moon.

    It will send NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut mission specialist Jeremy Hansen to the moon, the first time humans visited the rocky satellite since 1972.

    This will be a flyby mission, as seen in this NASA graphic for Artemis II.

     

    NASA is aiming for a Feb. 6 launch, but it can be pushed back to April. The U.S. space agency explained why.

    “While the Artemis II launch window opens as early as Friday, Feb. 6, the mission management team will assess flight readiness after the wet dress rehearsal across the spacecraft, launch infrastructure, and the crew and operations teams before selecting a launch date,” NASA stated.

    As John Honeycutt, NASA’s Artemis II mission management team chair, said during a Friday afternoon press conference, “We will fly when we are ready.”

    The U.S. space agency has named the mission to return to Earth’s lunar neighbor Artemis, as a homage to the Apollo moon landing. In Greek mythology, Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo and the goddess of the moon.

    NASA plans to send humans (including the first woman and person of color) back to the moon in 2027, more than 50 years after the last time humans stepped on the lunar surface.

    The Artemis I launch took place in 2022 to test out the new systems and how they would handle going to the moon and back.

    Learn about the crew

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    Anthony Leone

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  • Weather a concern for Starlink launch

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    CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — As SpaceX is gearing up for another Starlink launch on Sunday evening, the weather is a bit of a concern. 

    What You Need To Know

    • The Falcon 9 rocket will send up the Starlink 6-100 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

    The Falcon 9 rocket will send up the Starlink 6-100 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, stated SpaceX. 

    The launch window will open from 5:04 p.m. ET to 9:04 p.m. ET. That means SpaceX has during that time frame to launch its Falcon 9.

    The 45th Weather Squadron is giving “40→10%” against the launch, with the forecast concerns being the cumulus cloud, thick cloud and liftoff winds rules.

    Find out more about the weather criteria for a Falcon 9 launch.

    Going up

    This is the 24th mission for the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster B1080. It sent up two commercial crewed missions.

    After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket will land on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas that will be in the Atlantic Ocean..

    About the mission

    The 29 satellites from the Starlink company, owned by SpaceX, will be heading to low-Earth orbit to join the thousands already there.

    Once deployed and in their orbit, they will provide internet service to many parts of Earth.

    Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, documents Starlink satellites.

    Before this launch, McDowell recorded the following:

    • 9,500 are in orbit
    • 8,261 are in operational orbit

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    Anthony Leone

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