Like a cherry positioned atop a scrumptious sundae, NASA technicians have efficiently mounted the Orion spacecraft onto the Space Launch System rocket. It’s a significant milestone, because the area company prepares for the upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon.

The accomplished stacking of the SLS rocket has resulted in a construction that stands 332 toes (101 meters) tall. A crew of NASA engineers and technicians finished the set up at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida shortly earlier than midnight on October 21. The launch abort system was additionally secured to the rocket, along with the 74,000-pound (33.5-metric ton) Orion spacecraft. The stacking course of began earlier this 12 months, and its completion represents a significant milestone for NASA.

Speaking to reporters earlier at this time, Mike Bolger, the exploration floor programs program supervisor at Kennedy Space Center, was amazed to see the construction from prime to backside, describing it as a “heck of a sight.” The rocket is at present parked inside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), and Bolger mentioned he’ll be much more stoked as soon as the rocket is rolled out to the launch pad.

Cathy Koerner, Orion program supervisor at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, mentioned her crew carried out in depth testing on Orion to ensure it was prepared for the roll-out. The Artemis I mission will characterize Orion’s second flight to area, however it can mark the spacecraft’s first journey to deep area. During the teleconference, Koerner mentioned she’s “excited to watch Orion work in the environment it was designed for.”

Indeed, we’re getting near the inaugural blast-off of this next-gen moon rocket—the much-anticipated mission generally known as Artemis I. For this upcoming check flight, the rocket will ship an uncrewed Orion capsule to area, the place it can journey to the Moon and again with no lunar touchdown. A profitable check will set the stage for Artemis II sooner or later in 2023, an equivalent mission save for the presence of precise NASA astronauts.

That we’re getting near Artemis I used to be made abundantly clear throughout at this time’s teleconference, as precise launch dates had been offered. Mike Sarafin, Artemis I mission supervisor, mentioned the earliest that SLS may launch is February 12, 2022, at 5:56 p.m. EDT. The overarching launch window will stay open till February 27. If SLS can’t launch in February, NASA will attempt once more between March 12 to 21 and once more between April 8 to 23.

The cause for the 2 weeks on and two weeks off sample has to do with the so-called “three-body problem”; as Sarafin defined, the launch window is dictated by the place of Earth on its axis, the lunar cycle, and the necessity for a daylight splashdown again on Earth.

These proposed launch dates are contingent upon a sequence of upcoming checks and ongoing evaluations, together with verification of the communications system, countdown checks and checks of the bottom programs, in addition to a moist gown rehearsal wherein propellant shall be added to the rocket’s gas tanks. No agency date was given for the moist gown rehearsal, however Tom Whitmeyer, the deputy affiliate administrator for exploration programs growth, mentioned the moist rehearsal will ideally occur in January.

“I’m very excited about the tremendous progress we’ve made, especially given the challenges presented by covid,” Whitmeyer informed reporters. But he cautioned concerning the dates saying “we’re gonna fly when the hardware is ready to fly.”

At the press convention, John Honeycutt, SLS program supervisor at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, mentioned the crew is able to end testing and go concerning the integration work. Artemis I cannot solely be the primary check launch of SLS, however the first check of many new floor programs, he added.

Sarafin mentioned the finished stacking is a crucial milestone and that it alerts the ultimate stretch. He warned that Artemis I gained’t be a cakewalk, pointing to such challenges as working Orion below true flight circumstances, returning it from the Moon and performing a protected re-entry (the capsule will go from Mach 32 to Mach 0 in 20 seconds), and retrieving the spacecraft for inspection. Bonus targets, he mentioned, embrace the deployment of 10 cubesats, together with the BioSentinel examine to review the consequences of area radiation on yeast.

Excitingly, Sarafin mentioned Orion shall be outfitted with cameras, and he’s anticipating selfies taken with the Moon within the background, together with spectacular views of Earth from distances exceeding 200,000 miles (322,000 km).

Artemis I and II are check missions for the last word prize: a crewed touchdown on the floor of the Moon, which is at present scheduled for 2024 (although that appears more and more unlikely). A key purpose of Artemis is to make sure a long-term and sustainable presence on the Moon that may assist to organize for a mission to Mars through the 2030s.

More: Unfinished Spacesuits Means Astronaut Moon Landing in 2024 Is Almost Certainly Not Going to Happen.