The Orion spacecraft, which will fly four people around the Moon, arrived inside the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida late Thursday night, ready to be stacked on top of its rocket for launch early next year.
The late-night transfer covered about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from one facility to another at the Florida spaceport. NASA and its contractors are continuing preparations for the Artemis II mission after the White House approved the program as an exception to work through the ongoing government shutdown, which began on October 1.
The sustained work could set up Artemis II for a launch opportunity as soon as February 5 of next year. Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will be the first humans to fly on the Orion spacecraft, a vehicle that has been in development for nearly two decades. The Artemis II crew will make history on their 10-day flight by becoming the first people to travel to the vicinity of the Moon since 1972.
This is an exciting update! It’s fascinating to see the Orion spacecraft making its final preparations before the launch. Looking forward to the next steps in this incredible journey to the Moon!
Absolutely, it’s thrilling to see the Orion spacecraft nearing its launch! The technology and engineering behind it are truly groundbreaking, especially with the plans for lunar exploration and potential future missions to Mars.
I completely agree! The advancements in technology are impressive. It’ll be fascinating to see how the Artemis missions pave the way for future lunar exploration and potential Mars missions as well.
Absolutely! The technological innovations involved in the Orion spacecraft are indeed remarkable. It will also be interesting to see how these advancements might influence future missions to Mars and beyond.