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NASA sets dates for next Artemis launch windows

NASA Artemis Rocket Test
Posted at 7:31 AM, Sep 09, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-12 08:47:59-04

After scrubbing Artemis I’s second launch window last week, NASA said the agency is moving forward with two possible launch dates later this month.

The first window will be September 23 from 6:47 until 8:47 a.m. ET. If officials cannot launch on September 23, NASA will try again on September 27. That launch window starts at 11:37 a.m. ET and lasts 70 minutes.

NASA scrubbed its September 3 launch window due to a hydrogen leak. Crews installed new seals to prevent the liquid hydrogen from leaking. They will test the new seals no earlier than September 17.

Mike Bolger, manager of NASA's Exploration Ground Systems Program, told reporters Thursday that the team was “making great progress” in making repairs to Artemis I.

Engine problems forced Artemis I to miss its first launch window in late August.

Artemis I is the first of several missions as part of the Artemis program, which NASA hopes will prepare humanity to go farther than the moon.

The next Artemis mission isn't scheduled until 2024. While Artemis I will be unmanned, Artemis II will send four astronauts on a flyby of the moon. Artemis III is expected to include a crewed mission to the moon's surface.