• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Sophia Bush’s girlfriend ‘proud’ the actress has opened up about coming out as queer
  • Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!
  • Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

NASA rolls out its mega Moon rocket — here’s what you need to know

Towleroad March 18, 2022 Leave a Comment

Published by
AFP
NASA's massive new Moon rocket is illuminated at dusk atop a mobile launch platform en route to Launch Pad 39B from the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida March 17, 2022

Washington (AFP) – NASA's massive new rocket eased onto its launchpad Friday, ready for a battery of tests that will clear it to blast off to the Moon this summer on an uncrewed flight.

It left the Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building Thursday evening and began a nearly 11-hour journey on a crawler-transporter to the hallowed Launch Complex 39B, arriving at 4:15 am.

Around 10,000 people had gathered to watch the event.

  • Huge rocket, huge cost – 

With the Orion crew capsule fixed on top, the Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1 stands 322 feet (98 meters) high — taller than the Statue of Liberty, but a little smaller than the 363 feet Saturn V rockets that powered the Apollo missions to the Moon.

Still, it will produce 8.8 million pounds of maximum thrust (39.1 Meganewtons), 15 percent more than the Saturn V, meaning it's expected to be the world's most powerful rocket at the time it begins operating.

Having reached the iconic launchpad, where 53 Space Shuttles took off, there are roughly two more weeks' worth of checks before what's known as the “wet dress rehearsal.”

The SLS team will load more than 700,000 gallons (3.2 million liters) of cryogenic propellant into the rocket and practice every phase of launch countdown, stopping ten seconds before blast off.

“From this sacred and historical place, humanity will soon embark on a new era of exploration,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement Friday.

A symbol of US space ambition, it also comes with a hefty price tag: $4.1 billion per launch for the first four Artemis missions, NASA Inspector General Paul Martin told Congress this month.

  • To the Moon and beyond – 

NASA is targeting May as the earliest window for Artemis-1, an uncrewed lunar mission that will be the first integrated flight for SLS and Orion.

SLS will first place Orion into a low Earth orbit, and then, using its upper stage, perform what's called a trans-lunar injection. 

This maneuver is necessary to send Orion 280,000 miles beyond Earth and 40,000 miles beyond the Moon — further than any spaceship capable of carrying humans has ventured.

On its three-week mission, Orion will deploy 10 shoebox size satellites known as CubeSats to gather information on the deep space environment. 

Its “passengers” will include three mannequins collecting radiation data, and a plush Snoopy toy, long a NASA mascot.

It will journey around the far side of the Moon, using thrust provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) thruster, and finally make its way back to Earth, where its heat shield will be tested against the atmosphere.

Splashdown takes place in the Pacific, off the coast of California.

Artemis-2 will be the first crewed test, flying around the Moon but not landing, while Artemis-3, planned for 2025, will see the first woman and first person of color touch down on the lunar south pole.

NASA wants to build a permanent presence on the Moon, and use it as a proving ground for technologies necessary for a Mars mission, sometime in the 2030s, using a Block 2 evolution of the SLS.

SLS v Starship

NASA calls SLS a “super heavy lift exploration class vehicle.” The only currently operational super heavy rocket is SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, which is smaller.

Elon Musk's company is also developing its own deep space rocket, the fully reusable Starship, which he has said should be ready for an orbital test this year.

Starship would be both bigger and more powerful than SLS: 394 feet tall with 17 million pounds of thrust. It could also be considerably cheaper. 

The tycoon has suggested that within years, the cost per launch could be as little as $10 million.

Direct comparisons are complicated by the fact that while SLS is designed to fly direct to its destinations, SpaceX foresees putting a Starship into orbit, and then refueling it with another Starship so it can continue its journey, to extend range and payload.

NASA has also contracted a version of Starship as a lunar descent vehicle for Artemis.

Other super heavy rockets under development include Blue Origin's New Glenn, China's Long March 9 and Russia's Yenisei.

Topics: Aaon, towleroad More Posts About: Blue Origin, Elon Musk, European Space Agency, Falcon Heavy, Kennedy Space Center, Low Earth orbit, NASA, Orion, Saturn V, Space Launch System, SpaceX, Trans-lunar injection, Vehicle Assembly Building

Related Posts
  • Elon Musk Boots Twitter Bird for “X” ; New Comicbook “X Corp” To Turn Twitter Tangle Into Titanic “Everyone’s Everything App”
  • Battle Of The Dicks: Elon Musk suggests penis size contest with rival Mark Zuckerberg
  • SpaceX scrubs test flight of Starship, world’s biggest rocket
  • Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

    Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Mel B will “always be open” when it comes to her sexuality. The Spice Girls singer, 48, who reunited with her bandmates including the group's ex-singer Victoria Beckham for the fashion …Read More »
  • Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

    Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Megan Thee Stallion is being sued for allegedly creating a hostile work environment and forcing her cameraman to watch her having lesbian sex. The 29-year-old ‘Savage' rapper faces the salacious claims …Read More »
  • Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

    Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Jonathan Bennett's life was “changed forever” by his role in ‘Mean Girls'. The 42-year-old actor starred as heartthrob Aaron Samuels in the 2004 cult classic – which followed Lindsay Lohan, Rachel …Read More »
  • Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

    Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass a gift basket after he came out as gay. The 44-year-old NSYNC star revealed the legendary singer showed his support when Lance decided to reveal …Read More »
Previous Post: « Florida ‘Don’t say gay’ bill spells headache for Disney
Next Post: ‘House Of Cards’ Crew Members Dragged Into Kevin Spacey’s Sexual Assault Battle »

Primary Sidebar

Most Recent

  • Sophia Bush’s girlfriend ‘proud’ the actress has opened up about coming out as queer

    Sophia Bush’s girlfriend ‘proud’ the actress has opened up about coming out as queer

  • Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

    Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

  • Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

    Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

  • Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

    Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

  • Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

    Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

  • Relationship status influences heterosexual women’s sexual prejudice towards lesbians

    Relationship status influences heterosexual women’s sexual prejudice towards lesbians

  • JoJo Siwa had a challenge transitioning to new grown-up image

    JoJo Siwa had a challenge transitioning to new grown-up image

  • Liz Hurley defends lesbian sex scene in new movie that was directed by her son

    Liz Hurley defends lesbian sex scene in new movie that was directed by her son

Partner Links

  • Remains of the Day (06/16)
    Out: NYC dad wins Pedro Pascal lookalike contest, receives $50 and […]
  • ‘Andor,’ ‘Severance,’ ‘The White Lotus,’ ‘The Last of Us’ and ‘Hacks’ Lead LGBTQ Critics’ Dorian TV Award Nominations
    Adding some Hollywood fizz to Pride month, the 560-member strong GALECA: The […]
  • OMG, new music: Mariah Carey returns with video for single ‘Type Dangerous’
    What the music generated by AI? Maybe! Mimi is back with […]
  • Ted Cruz Calls For War With Iran
    Ted Cruz told Maria Bartiromo that he would love to see […]
  • Man Arrested At PA No Kings Rally With Concealed Gun And Clips
    A man who was apparently wearing police gear and carrying over […]

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

About

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy
[towleroadmr] [towleroadtn]

Footer

Ptown Hacks 2018

Read

  • Travel
  • Film
  • Law – LGBT Rights
  • Columns
  • Specials

About

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 · Log in

×
×