Orion completes trajectory correction maneuver en route to the Moon [PHOTOS]
(NASA http://bit.ly/3i0KYeX)
The Orion spacecraft made two successful trajectory correction maneuvers on its way to the Moon, and also sent back a number of images of the Earth and the interior of the ship.
In addition, all 10 cubesat satellites successfully separated from the second stage of the SLS rocket and began their scientific programs.
The flight under the Artemis-1 program began on November 16, 2022.
It was the first launch of the SLS rocket and the first unmanned flight of the Orion spacecraft in a complete set (return capsule and European service module) to the Moon.
The launch itself was postponed twice due to problems with the rocket and took place only on the third attempt.
The flight of the Orion to the Moon and back will take 25.5 days, during which time the ship will make two approaches to the Moon, and will also be in a far retrograde lunar orbit.
The landing of the ship's return capsule into the Atlantic Ocean will take place on December 11.
The purpose of the flight is to test all the ship's systems in flight, as well as to conduct a number of biological experiments
As I’ve written before, on board the ship there are dummies, yeast, seeds of Tal's resicum, strains of black aspergillus fungus, as well as photosynthetic algae.
CORRECTION MANEUVER
After the cryogenic second stage ICPS of the SLS rocket put the Orion on a trajectory to the Moon, it separated from the ship.
A few hours later, 10 6U format cube research satellites began to separate from the adapter that remained with the stage.
Four of the cubesats will explore the Moon, and the rest will explore the interplanetary medium, and will also test a number of technologies.
Nine hours after launch, all satellites successfully separated from the adapter, and the ship turned on the main engine of the service module and made the first trajectory correction on the way to the Moon.
On November 17, the second successful correction of the trajectory took place.
In addition, the engineers calibrated the optical navigation system from several cameras and obtained a series of images of the receding Earth, as well as the interior of the ship.
(NASA http://bit.ly/3Gvh64C)
Sources:
- NASA: https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/
- Steemit: https://steemit.com/hive-109160/@sarahjay1/nasa-finally-launched-the-super-heavy-rocket-sls
- Space.com: https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-1-orion-close-flyby-moon
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