So it really only takes intent to at worst replicate the original system and perhaps do a lot better. once you are in orbit the energy cost to the moon and back is almost nominal as compared to t5he lift to earth orbit.
Space X has proven te ability to get to earth orbit. So a redo of the transit pod and lander can do this and that today should avoid having the transit pod reenter.. We even have the space Station to work with.
NASA Readies Orion Abort Safety For First Manned Human Moon Mission in 50 Years – Feb-April 2026
September 23, 2025 by Brian Wang
NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is getting ready to send four astronauts from Earth on a journey around the Moon in 2026. Engineers have upgraded the agency’s Moon SLS rocket inside and out after the Artemis 1 launch. SLS flew a good first mission on the Artemis I test flight.
NASA commits to launching no later than April 2026. Teams are accelerating preparations to target as early as February 2026, but safety remains paramount. Assessments consider rocket stacking progress, ops/training, available launch periods (monthly, 4-8 days each with specific windows), technical readiness, trajectory physics, and weather. They will have a full assessment post-key integrations and tests. Emphasis: “When we’re ready to safely launch, we’re going to accelerate as much as we can.”
Success Measure: Flyby Moon, safe return, validate systems for Artemis 3. NASA hopes to inspire an Artemis Generation like Apollo did. This is a front-row to history.
Artemis 2 marks the first return to the Moon after over 50 years since Apollo.
Artemis 1 (25 days, uncrewed) validated SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, and ground systems in deep space.
Artemis 2 introduces crewed elements, with lessons feeding into Artemis 3.
Artemis 2 Mission Profile: 10-day duration wutg free-return trajectory using Earth-Moon gravity for a safe return with minimal burns (similar to Apollo 8 and 16).
Key phases include:
Launch from Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
Boosters provide 75% thrust; RS-25 engines burn; jettison boosters and launch abort system.
Main engine cutoff (MECO); perigee raise burn; rendezvous/proximity operations (Prox Ops) demo with the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS).
High Earth orbit checkouts (life support, etc.). translunar injection (TLI) on Day 2.
Outbound to Moon. lunar flyby (observations). return. atmospheric entry. splashdown/recovery.
Rollout from VAB to pad (4-mile journey, ~18 days total with contingencies).
At pad: Connections, boosting, final configs.
Wet dress ~2-3 days pre-launch
2-day countdown with crew hold at T-10 minutes.
Launch Abort System (LAS) arms at T-5:25
Terminal count includes propellant loading, power/software transitions. Booster ignition, liftoff; handover to flight control.
Launch Date Tie-In: Preparations align with acceleration goal. wet dress as final risk reduction before February/April windows. Modifications from Artemis 1 ( valve tweaks, ground plate seals) mitigate leaks, enabling efficient loading without VAB return unless major repair needed.
Ascent Phase (Judd Frieling)
Ascent Timeline: ~8.8 million pounds thrust; clear tower ~10 seconds post-liftoff; roll/pitch for horizontal velocity. Max Q ~1 minute in (150,000 ft); SRB separation ~2 minutes; solar array jettison/reveal ~3+ minutes; LAS jettison ~3:06; MECO ~8 minutes (15×1,200 nautical mile orbit).
Post-MECO: Nozzle extension, solar arrays deploy (~20 minutes in); crew setups (toilet, water); upper stage perigee raise to safe orbit. Crew doffs suits; Prox Ops prep.
Abort Modes: Continuous LAS capability; single-engine abort to Pacific (Mode 1, until LAS jettison); higher-energy abort to low Earth orbit after 23 seconds; 3-engine press-to-MECO ~5:15; untargeted Atlantic splashdown (Mode 2, ~7 minutes); orbit abort to Pacific/Baja (7.5+ minutes).
Launch Date Relevance: Ascent handover immediate post-liftoff; aligns with evening windows in February (Feb 5 earliest).
Orion Crew Safety System
NASA teams are finishing integration of the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II test flight with its launch abort system on Sept. 17 inside the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 44-foot-tall tower-like abort structure would swiftly carry the four-person crew inside Orion to safety in the unlikely event of an emergency during launch or ascent atop the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket.
Over the next few weeks, teams will complete remaining closeout activities before moving the spacecraft to its final stop before the launch pad: the agency’s Vehicle Assembly Building. There it will be added to the top of the rocket, before the finished stack is rolled out to the launch pad on its way to the Moon.
The abort system is comprised of three solid rocket motors: the jettison, attitude, and abort motors. In the case of an emergency, these motors work together to propel the astronauts inside Orion’s crew module to safety. Orion will shed the abort system and leave it behind once the crew is safely through the most dynamic part of ascent, leaving Orion thousands of pounds lighter for the rest of its journey.
The Artemis II rocket includes an improved navigation system compared to Artemis I. Its communications capability also has been improved by repositioning antennas on the rocket to ensure continuous communications with NASA ground stations and the U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 which controls launches along the Eastern Range.
SLS will jettison the spent boosters four seconds earlier during Artemis II ascent than occurred during Artemis I. Dropping the boosters several seconds closer to the end of their burn will give engineers flight data to correlate with projections that shedding the boosters several seconds sooner will yield approximately 1,600 pounds of payload to Earth orbit for future SLS flights.
The approximately 10-day Artemis II test flight is the first crewed flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign.
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