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(Picture credit score: Satellite tv for pc picture ©2022 Maxar Applied sciences)
A satellite tv for pc has given us gorgeous chook’s-eye views of NASA’s towering Artemis 1 moon rocket, only a few days earlier than the large car leaves Earth.
Maxar Applied sciences’ WorldView-3 satellite tv for pc snapped two pictures of the Artemis 1 stack on Wednesday (Aug. 25) because it sat on Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy House Heart (KSC) in Florida.
“Our first picture was collected extra immediately trying down from the satellite tv for pc’s orbit towards the KSC,” Maxar representatives wrote in an emailed description of the pictures on Wednesday.
“The second picture (which we name a excessive off-nadir assortment) was collected whereas the satellite was south of Cuba (practically 700 miles [1,125 kilometers] southwest of the KSC) and was trying again at a steep angle to the launch pad,” they added.
Associated: NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission: Live updates
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The Artemis 1 stack consists of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket and Orion crew capsule, with two strong rocket boosters strapped to both facet of the SLS. If all goes based on plan, the mission will raise off on Monday morning (Aug. 29), sending Orion on an uncrewed journey to lunar orbit.
As its identify suggests, Artemis 1 is the primary mission in NASA’s Artemis program of moon exploration. The 42-day-long flight will mark the first-ever liftoff for the highly effective SLS and the primary journey past Earth orbit for Orion, which circled our planet throughout an uncrewed check flight in 2014.
— NASA’s Artemis program of lunar exploration
— Artemis 1: Going back to the moon
— For Artemis moon missions, science will reign supreme
If all goes properly with Artemis 1, Artemis 2 will carry astronauts to lunar orbit in 2024, and Artemis 3 will put boots on the moon close to the south pole in 2025 or 2026.
WorldView-3 launched to Earth orbit in August 2014. Maxar and its clients use the satellite tv for pc for a wide range of functions, together with protecting tabs on Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Mike Wall is the creator of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a guide concerning the seek for alien life. Comply with him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Comply with us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).
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Michael Wall is a Senior House Author with Space.com (opens in new tab) and joined the crew in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and army house, however has been recognized to dabble within the house artwork beat. His guide concerning the seek for alien life, “Out There,” was printed on Nov. 13, 2018. Earlier than changing into a science author, Michael labored as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the College of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor’s diploma from the College of Arizona, and a graduate certificates in science writing from the College of California, Santa Cruz. To search out out what his newest venture is, you possibly can comply with Michael on Twitter.
