After completing the first orbit maneuvers around Earth and a close flight demonstration, NASA is preparing for the ignition that will send Orion into a free-return orbit around the moon; in the first hours of the mission, a brief communication loss and a malfunction in the service system were also reported, which were resolved
Live broadcast of the first day of the Artemis II mission from NASA's website, which will end after the maneuver
The main event expected later today, and according to Israeli time on the night between Thursday and Friday, is Translunar Injection (TLI) maneuver – The ignition that will take Orion out of Earth orbit and send it on a path that will take it to the Moon. According to NASA, this is The last and most important central engine of the mission, and is to be carried out using the main engine of the European Orion Service Module. NASA describes this ignition as a process of about six minutes, which should place the spacecraft on Free-return route: A trajectory that will take it around the far side of the moon and also direct it back to Earth on the tenth day of the flight. (NASA)
In effect, this maneuver is the moment when the mission stops being just another high-Earth orbit test flight and becomes a real lunar journey. NASA's mission schedule makes it clear that the second day of the flight was primarily dedicated to preparations for TLI, including life support system tests, the first physical activity in the spacecraft, and preparing the systems for ignition. NASA also set Post-TLI Status Briefing at 8:30 PM EDT on April 2, that is, 03:30 in the morning on April 3rd, Israel timeFrom this it is reasonable to conclude that the maneuver itself is expected to take place earlier during the night.
So far, Orion has reached this point after a series of maneuvers designed to shape its initial orbit around Earth. NASA reported that they were also successfully completed Phrygia raising maneuver and also Apogee raising maneuver, which were intended to refine the spacecraft's high orbit and prepare it for testing and continuing its journey to the Moon. In addition, the team completed the Demonstration of the upcoming maneuver Surrounding the launcher's detached upper stage is an experiment designed to test how Orion behaves when astronauts manually fly it close to another craft – an important capability for future lunar orbit missions.
At the end of this sequence, it is also worth noting the malfunctions that were reported in the first hours of the mission. The first was Short communication disconnection After the Prigea ascent maneuver. According to NASA, the ground station briefly lost the ability to receive data from the crew and the spacecraft, but the problem was quickly resolved. The crew itself reported that throughout the event it was able to hear the calls from the ground, and NASA said that ground crews are continuing to investigate what caused the loss of communication.
The second problem was with Orion's toilet system. Before the apogee lift maneuver, the crew reported Flashing fault light During the system test. Initially, NASA said that teams on the ground were investigating the source of the problem and working with the astronauts on a solution, and later updated that the team, in cooperation with the control center in Houston, Restored services to normal operation.That is, as of the last official update, the problem has been resolved and is not defined as a threat to the continuation of the mission.
So, over the past 24 hours, the early goals have been completed, the orbit around Earth has been designed as planned, and the mission is approaching the truly crucial stage – the ignition that will send Orion into a manned orbit around the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era. (Updated April 2, 7:00 PM Israel time).
More on the subject on the science website
