NASA is getting its new rocket for the first mission of its Artemis program sooner than expected.
The space agency recently announced that it had changed the rollout date of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Aug. 18 to Aug.16 in preparation for the launching of Artemis I's uncrewed mission.
The uncrewed mission is the preceding mission before the crewed ones to determine if the Orion spacecraft is ready to undergo its first crewed mission, per CNET.
NASA SLS Rocket Rollout Details
NASA mentioned tweeted on its official Twitter page that it intends to roll out its SLS rocket on Aug. 16 at 9 PM, two days before its original rollout date of Aug. 18.
ZDNet mentioned in its article that the space agency's engineers and technicians had completed the final testing and checkouts of the SLS rocket, allowing NASA to roll the rocket earlier than expected.
The earlier rollout may be good news for NASA and its pre-launch preparations. With Artemis I set for taking off on Aug. 29, NASA now has almost two weeks to prepare the rocket for its first mission instead of just 11 days.
Space.com mentioned in its article that the Artemis 1 stack would travel to its future launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center, specifically on Launch Complex 39B, atop the Crawler-transporter 2. Previous NASA statements indicate that the journey to the launch pad will take eight to 12 hours despite being only four miles away from NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building.
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The rocket's rollout can be viewed online on the NASA Kennedy YouTube channel on Aug. 16 at 3 PM EDT.
Artemis 1 SLS Details
The Artemis missions' SLS rocket is "the most powerful rocket" NASA has allegedly built. According to a NASA page dedicated to the rocket, the SLS is expected to allow astronauts to explore destinations far into the solar system, such as Mars.
The rocket is said to be able to produce 13% more thrust at launch than the space shuttles NASA used in the late 90s and early 2000s and 15% more than the Saturn V during takeoff and ascent, per a NASA infographic.
The rocket is also capable of sending more than 27 metric tons or 59,000 pounds to the moon due to its lift capabilities being enhanced by a Trans-Lunar Injection maneuver.
This maneuver allows the rocket to launch more cargo to the Moon than the space shuttle could send in low-Earth orbits.
Meanwhile, the Artemis 1 mission will be uncrewed until the Orion spacecraft located at the top of the rocket is deemed good enough for a manned mission to the moon.
NASA hopes that it will learn more about its deep space exploration systems to send astronauts to the moon and Mars through the Artemis 1 uncrewed launch.
You may remember that NASA opened the mission to all of NASA's astronomers regardless of gender. As such, NASA wants to make sure the spacecraft is working as intended.
It is also worth noting that a Shaun the sheep plushie as well as 245 silver Snoopy pins, a Dead Sea pebble, and 567 US Flags will be in the Orion spacecraft during Artemis' first uncrewed launch, per The Daily Mail.
