NASA sets new launch date for Artemis I rocket to travel to the moon

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — NASA has set a new launch date for its Artemis I rocket to the moon for late September — the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable deep space exploration, including landing the first woman and first person of color on the moon.

All eyes will be on the historic Launch Complex 39B when Orion and the Space Launch System (SLS) lift off for the first time from NASA’s modernized Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be the first unmanned flight test of the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft.

During this flight, the spacecraft will launch on the most powerful rocket in the world and fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown, according to NASA.

It will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the moon during the four- to six-week mission. Orion will stay in space longer than any spacecraft has done without docking to a space station, and return home faster and hotter than ever before.

It was initially set to launch last month and later on Sept. 1, but was canceled for a second time due to a fuel leak. Over the weekend, Artemis I teams completed repair work to the leak areas.

Now, NASA has adjusted the targeted dates for a cryogenic demonstration test and to the next launch opportunities.

The agency will conduct the demonstration test no earlier than Wednesday, Sept. 21, and has updated its request for a launch opportunity Sept. 27, with a potential backup opportunity of Oct. 2 under review.

A 70-minute launch window opens at 11:37 a.m. on Sept. 27, with the rocket landing on the moon on Nov. 5. A 109-minute launch window is under review. If approved, it will open on Oct. 2 at 2:52 p.m., with the rocket landing on the moon on Nov. 11.

“The updated dates represent careful consideration of multiple logistical topics, including the additional value of having more time to prepare for the cryogenic demonstration test, and subsequently more time to prepare for the launch. The dates also allow managers to ensure teams have enough rest and to replenish supplies of cryogenic propellants,” according to NASA.

The primary goals for Artemis I are to demonstrate Orion’s systems in a spaceflight environment and ensure a safe re-entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery prior to the first flight with crew on Artemis II.

With the Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. NASA will collaborate with commercial and international partners to establish this first long-term presence on the moon. It will then use what is learned on and around the moon to take the next giant leap — sending the first astronauts to Mars.

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