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NASA is “Go” to Launch Artemis I on Monday Morning
Artemis I rocket rolls out to the launch pad for a wet dress rehearsal on June 6, 2022. (Credit: NASA)

NASA Mission Update

The Flight Readiness Review for NASA’s Artemis I mission has concluded, and teams are proceeding toward a two-hour launch window that opens at 8:33 a.m. EDT Monday, August 29, from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39B in Florida. 

Live coverage of events will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website, with prelaunch events starting Monday, Aug. 22. The launch countdown will begin Saturday, Aug. 27, at 10:23 a.m.

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  • August 23, 2022
Launch Dates Set for Artemis I Mission
The Space Launch System rocket fairing with ESA and NASA logos on the launchpad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, on 27 August 2022. The new ESA logo and NASA’s ‘worm’ logo will be along for the ride on the first full mission of the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. (Credit: NASA)

PARIS (ESA PR) — With the rocket now on the launchpad, the Artemis I Moon mission is getting real: 29 August is the first opportunity for the SLS rocket to blast off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s launchpad 39B in Florida, USA.

This first Artemis mission will put NASA’s Orion spacecraft and its European Service Module to the test during a journey beyond the Moon and back. The spacecraft will enter lunar orbit, using the Moon’s gravity to gain speed and propel itself almost half a million km from Earth – farther than any human-rated spacecraft has ever travelled.

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  • August 20, 2022
Rocket Arrives in California for NASA Launch of Polar-Orbiting Satellite
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V booster is offloaded from its water transport at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on July 11, 2022, for NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite mission. (Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin)

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (NOAA PR) — Flight hardware for the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket slated to launch the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) has arrived in California. The rocket’s boattail and interstage adapter arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base July 28 for processing ahead of launch. The payload fairings arrived Aug. 8.

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  • August 20, 2022
NASA Sets Star-studded Launch Coverage for Artemis Mega Moon Rocket Launch to Moon
Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion capsule at Launch Complex 39B. (Credit: NASA)

Jack Black, Chris Evans, Yo-Yo Ma and more to headline launch day coverage

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA will provide coverage of prelaunch, launch, and postlaunch activities for Artemis I, the first integrated test of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and the ground systems at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This uncrewed flight test around the Moon will pave the way for a crewed flight test and future human lunar exploration as part of Artemis.

The SLS rocket is targeted to launch during a two-hour window that opens at 8:33 a.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 29, from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy.

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  • August 19, 2022
Artemis I Moon Rocket Arrives at Launch Pad Ahead of Historic Mission

NASA Mission Update Around 7:30 a.m. EDT the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission arrived atop Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a nearly 10-hour journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building.  In the coming days, engineers and technicians will configure systems at the pad for launch, which is currently targeted for no earlier than Aug. 29 at 8:33 a.m. (two hour […]

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  • August 17, 2022
Join Our Virtual NASA Social to Experience the Launch of the Artemis I Mission
Artemis I mission rolled out to the launch pad. (Credit: NASA)

NASA Mission Update

Social media users are invited to register to take part in our global virtual NASA Social for the Artemis I launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA is targeting launch on August 29, 2022 during a two-hour launch window that opens at 8:33 a.m. EDT.

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  • August 17, 2022
The Past Week in Launches: SpaceX & China Launch Twice, a Soyuz Rideshare and India Falls Short
Small Satellite Launch Vehicle lifts off on maiden flight. (Credit: ISRO)

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

During the past week, SpaceX launched 98 Starlink satellites, a Chinese commercial launch provider made it three in a row, Russia launched a rideshare mission with an Iranian satellite aboard, and India’s new small satellite launcher fell just short of orbit.

There have been 103 orbital launches worldwide, with 99 successes and four failures.

Let’s take a closer look at the last week in launch.

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  • August 14, 2022
Artemis I to Launch First-of-a-Kind Deep Space Biology Mission
NASA’s BioSentinel mission will go beyond the Moon to perform the first long-duration deep space biology experiment. Set to launch with the first flight of the Space Launch System rocket, Artemis I, the spacecraft will study the effects of space radiation on yeast cells. The results could inspire solutions to keep future astronauts healthy during deep space exploration. (Credits: NASA/Ames Research Center)

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. (NASA PR) — Poised to launch on Artemis I from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida,  BioSentinel – a shoebox-sized CubeSat – will perform the first long-duration biology experiment in deep space. Artemis missions at the Moon will prepare humans to travel on increasingly farther and longer-duration missions to destinations like Mars, and BioSentinel will carry microorganisms, in the form of yeast, to fill critical gaps in knowledge about the health risks in deep space posed by space radiation.

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  • August 12, 2022
Launchapalooza: 26 New Boosters Debuting Worldwide
Vega-C lifts off on its maiden flight on July 13, 2022. (Credit: Arianespace)

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

During the first seven months of the year, five new satellite launch vehicles from Europe, China, Russia and South Korea flew successfully for the first time. As impressive as that is, it was a mere opening act to a busy period that could see at least 20 additional launchers debut around the world.

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  • August 6, 2022
SpaceX Launches 53 Starlink Satellites in Second Flight in Two Days

SpaceX launches a fresh batch of 53 Starlink broadband satellites into orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the company’s second launch of Starlink satellites in two days after a Falcon 9 placed 46 satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It was SpaceX’s sixth launch of July and 20th dedicated Starlink flight of 2022. Elon Musk’s company has launched a record 33 times […]

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  • July 24, 2022