NASA Says Looks to Test Launch Artemis Moon Rocket by August 29 at Earliest

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - NASA engineers are looking to test launch their repeatedly-delayed Artemis 1 Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft in an unmanned mission during the time period from August 29 to September 5, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Jim Free said on Wednesday.
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"We have placeholders on the [rocket launching] range for August 29, September 2 and September 5," Free said during a press conference. "We will make the agency commitment [to one of those dates] at the flight review."
Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin said that if Artemis launched on August 29 or September 5, it would carry out a 42-day longer duration mission before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean to be recovered. However, if the launch took place on September 2, it would be scheduled for a 39-day mission, he added,
"The main goal of the mission is to test the heat shield. .... Validating the heat shield is our primary objective," Sarafin said.
Artemis-1 is scheduled to orbit the Moon repeatedly before returning and re-entering the earth's atmosphere faster and withstanding greater heat levels than any previous human-rated spacecraft, according to NASA officials.
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