NASA begins a practice countdown for its first moonshot with astronauts in more than 50 years

NASA has begun a two-day signifier countdown for its archetypal moonshot with astronauts successful 53 years

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA began a two-day signifier countdown Saturday starring up to the fueling of its caller satellite rocket, a important trial that volition find erstwhile 4 astronauts blast disconnected connected a lunar flyby.

Already successful quarantine to debar germs, Commander Reid Wiseman and his unit volition beryllium the archetypal radical to motorboat to the satellite since 1972. They volition show the formal rehearsal from their Houston basal earlier flying to Kennedy Space Center erstwhile the rocket is cleared for flight.

The 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket moved retired to the pad 2 weeks ago. If Monday's fueling trial goes well, NASA could effort to motorboat wrong a week. Teams volition capable the rocket's vessel with much than 700,000 gallons of super-cold fuel, stopping a half-minute abbreviated of erstwhile the engines would light.

A bitter acold spell delayed the fueling demo, and the launch, by 2 days. Feb. 8 is present the earliest the rocket could blast off.

Riding successful the Orion capsule connected apical of the rocket, the U.S. and Canadian astronauts volition hurtle astir the satellite and past consecutive backmost without stopping until splashdown successful the Pacific. The ngo volition past astir 10 days.

NASA sent 24 astronauts to the satellite during the Apollo program, from 1968 to 1972. Twelve of them walked connected the surface.

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