The American rocket SLS successfully took off for the Moon




Lhe question was on everyone’s lips: was it really going to take off? After two misses since the end of the summer, the countdown is over for the most powerful American Space Launch System (SLS) mega-rocket ever built, which finally took off at 1:47 a.m. local time, i.e. 7:47 a.m. in Paris, from the mythical launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida. It rose like a gigantic ball of fire and shone in the night sky.

The event is historic, because the orange and white machine is supposed to allow the return of the Americans and their partners (European, Canadian and Japanese) to the Moon. Its objective for the day is indeed to launch the Orion capsule, without a passenger, to take a short tour around our natural satellite before it returns to Earth. This mission, called Artemis 1, is a crucial test before astronauts can embark on new lunar adventures. Fifty years after Apollo’s last flight, NASA now wants to establish a lasting human presence on the Moon, with the intention of preparing for future manned missions to Mars.

READ ALSOArtemis I: Moon objective!

For this new take-off attempt, NASA, which had finally given the starting signal after a meeting organized on Monday, had a two-hour shooting window this Wednesday between 1:04 a.m. and 3:04 a.m. (local time), i.e. between 7:04 a.m. and 9:04 a.m. in Paris. Less than a week after having faced the passage of Hurricane Nicole, the imposing rocket, which had to be sheltered to escape the onslaught of Hurricane Ian at the end of September, this time benefited from mild weather. There remained the shadow of a technical problem after a first report due to a faulty sensor and a second linked to a fuel leak when filling the tanks which had led to the replacement of a seal… This shadow has now disappeared !

A historic moment

As for the Artemis 1 mission, it will last a total of just over twenty-five days with the landing of the Orion capsule in the Pacific Ocean scheduled for December 11. If all goes well, the way to the return of Man first around the Moon, in 2024, then on its soil, at the earliest in 2025-2026, will finally be open.


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