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NASA plans to launch three massive rockets for the Artemis 3 crewed lunar test mission

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NASA plans to launch three massive rockets for the Artemis 3 crewed lunar test mission

Blue Origin, SpaceX and NASA are launching heavy-lift rockets within a short timeframe for the mission.

Earlier this year, NASA made some major changes to its Artemis program that would push back the next crewed moon landing to 2028. Artemis 3 was supposed to be the agency's first crewed moon landing since the Apollo 17 in 1972, but under the overhauled program, it will now involve testing at least one moon lander instead. Now, the agency has revealed its detailed plans for Artemis 3, which will launch three spacecraft on three different heavy-lift rockets from Florida within the span of two weeks.

Artemis 3 will officially begin when Blue Origin launches the New Glenn with a test version of its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander into low Earth orbit, about 273 miles above Earth's surface. After that, NASA will launch Space Launch System (SLS) with the Orion crew capsule on top, carrying NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas, as well as European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano. Orion will settle into an orbit at an altitude of around 345 miles before rendezvousing with Blue Moon Mark 2. The New Glenn launchpad exploded back in May during a hotfire test, but the company is working to make it usable again by the end of this year.

The crew will make sure everything is in order for a couple of days before they open the hatch between the two spacecraft and enter Blue Origin's lander. They will verify its ability to maintain proper atmosphere and pressure and test its software, flight-control systems and life-support functions.


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