NASA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES A MASSIVE ROCKET TO THE MOON AFTER THREE MONTHS OF VEXING FUEL LEAKS

wed 16 November 2022:

NASA’s new Moon rocket took off with three test dummies on board, from Kennedy Space Center on 4 million kilogrammes (8.8 million pounds) of thrust and hitting 160 kilometres per hour (100mph) within seconds. bringing the US one step closer to reintroducing astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo mission ended 50 years ago.

If everything goes well during the three-week, make-or-break shakedown mission, the 32-story-tall rocket will push an empty crew capsule into a wide orbit around the Moon, and the capsule will return to Earth in December with a splashdown in the Pacific.

Not than two hours into the flight, the Orion capsule was perched on top, ready to break out of Earth’s orbit and head for the Moon.

The moonshot comes after nearly three months of frustrating fuel leaks that caused the rocket to bounce between its hangar and the pad. The American space agency managed to stop a leak late Tuesday night while fueling the rocket for the launch in the middle of the night.

NASA anticipated that 15,000 spectators would crowd Kennedy Space Center for the launch, with thousands more lining the beaches and highways outside the gates.

Verifying the heat shield of the capsule during re-entry is NASA’s primary goal for the $4.1 billion mission, which will allow four humans to board the second moonship in 2024. A two-person lunar landing would occur after that in 2025.

The Apollo program came to an end in December 1972 when NASA launched its final crew to the Moon. This time, it aims to establish a long-lasting presence, which may include a lunar space station, in order to get ready for a potential expedition to Mars.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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