NASA’s Mega Moon Rocket, Spacecraft Complete
First Roll to Launch Pad
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft atop arrived
at Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Friday in
preparation for a final test before its Artemis I Moon mission.
The uncrewed flight test will pave the way for missions to land the first woman and
first person of color on the Moon under Artemis, and the rocket rolled to the pad for
a final test before launch.
“From this sacred and historical place, humanity will soon embark on a new era of
exploration,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. “Artemis I will demonstrate
NASA’s commitment and capacity to extend humanity’s presence on the Moon –
and beyond.”
Stacked on the mobile launcher and mounted on the crawler-transporter for a
journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B, it took 10-hours
and 28 minutes for SLS and Orion to reach the launch pad four miles away. The trip
began at 5:47 p.m. Thursday, March 17, and the 322-foot tall, 3.5-million-pound
rocket and spacecraft arrived at the pad at 4:15 a.m. on March 18.
The upcoming final test, known as the wet dress rehearsal, will run the Artemis I
launch team through operations to load propellant into the rocket’s tanks, conduct a
full launch countdown, demonstrate the ability to recycle the countdown clock, and
also drain the tanks to practice the timelines and procedures the team will use for
launch.
“Rolling out of the Vehicle Assembly Building is an iconic moment for this rocket and
spacecraft, and this is a key milestone for NASA,” said Tom Whitmeyer, deputy
associate administrator for Common Exploration Systems Development at NASA
Headquarters in Washington. “Now at the pad for the first time, we will use the
integrated systems to practice the launch countdown and load the rocket with the
propellants it needs to send Orion on a lunar journey in preparation for launch.”
Before the test, SLS, Orion, and the associated ground systems will undergo
checkouts at the pad. After the rehearsal, NASA will review data from the test before
setting a specific target launch date for the upcoming Artemis I launch. The
integrated rocket and spacecraft will roll back to the Vehicle Assembly Building
several days after the test to remove sensors used during the rehearsal, charge
system batteries, stow late-load cargo, and run final checkouts. Orion and SLS will
then roll to the launch pad for a final time about a week before launch.
With Artemis, NASA will establish long-term exploration at the Moon in preparation
for human missions to Mars. SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, along with the
human landing system and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASA’s
foundation for deep space exploration.
Chile's first gay couple weds as same-sex marriage
law takes effect
"Now our children have the same rights (as other families) and they
will be able to have, we hope, a better future," one of the grooms said.
SANTIAGO - Chile's Javier Silva and Jaime Nazar became the first two men
to tie the knot in the South American country's history on Thursday after a
law allowing same-sex marriage went into effect.
In December, Congress approved legislation guaranteeing legal rights for
same-sex couples in a milestone for the conservative nation after a decade-
long battle by LGBTQ communities and rights groups.
"Being the first couple to get married in Chile for us is an honor, something
to be proud of," Silva told reporters after the civil ceremony. "We did it! It's
something we didn't think could happen."
Silva and Nazar have been together for seven years and have two young
children. They have had a civil union for the last three years, but marriage is
a significant step forward for their whole family.
"Now our children have the same rights (as other families) and they will be
able to have, we hope, a better future, that they will not be discriminated
against for having two parents who love each other," Silva added.
Despite its long conservative tradition, Chile has been making progress in
recent years in recognizing LGBTQ rights.
"My congratulations to Jaime and Javier for being the first couple to marry
under the new #EqualMarriage law. To continue advancing for a Chile with
equal rights and freedoms for all people," President-elect Gabriel Boric, who
takes office on Friday, said on Twitter.
Same-sex marriage legislation was first discussed in 2017 and pushed by
former President Michelle Bachelet, but was delayed until last year.
Before that, starting in 2015, same-sex couples were able register a Civil
Union Agreement (AUC), which allowed some legal benefits.
"I think we're putting ourselves at the level the rest of the world is living in,
which is great," Nazar said. "I know our society is very conservative, but I
also know we have a promising future as a country."
US, China discuss Russia as Biden and Xi hold call
The US says Beijing has a ‘responsibility to use influence with Putin’
as toll mounts from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
United States President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping,
have begun their first direct talks since November, amid growing US concern
over Beijing’s relationship with Russia and its stance on the increasingly
brutal war in Ukraine.
Biden and Xi began speaking at 13:00 GMT on Friday, the White House said,
amid warnings from Washington that China may be considering providing
military support to Russia.
In a briefing earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Biden would
use the call to “make clear that China will bear responsibility for any actions
it takes to support Russia’s aggression”, and there would be “costs” to such
actions.
China “in particular has a responsibility to use its influence with President
Putin and to defend the international rules and principles that it professes
to support”, he said.
While Western countries and allies have moved to impose tough
sanctions on Russia over the invasion and condemned its aggression, China,
which has a close relationship with Kyiv as well as with Moscow, has not.
Walking a diplomatic tightrope, it has stressed Ukraine’s sovereignty while
strenuously avoiding any direct criticism of Russia and calling for peace
negotiations.
It has also insisted that Russia has legitimate security concerns that need to
be addressed and echoed Russian claims the US has been secretly working
on biological weapons in Ukraine. The allegations have been rejected by the
US and the United Nations.
“Since the beginning of the invasion, China has tried, I think, very awkwardly,
to play a neutral role,” said Katrina Yu, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Bejing.
“It’s refused to take sides, saying that it’s got good relations with both Kyiv
and Moscow. It says that it’s a neutral player and just wants to encourage
dialogue. But at the same time, Beijing has made it very clear that it intends
to preserve its friendship with Russia, which it has called ‘limitless’ [and]
‘rock solid’.”
At a regular briefing of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday,
spokesman Zhao Lijian insisted China’s position was consistent and rounded
on those who suggested any incongruity.
“It is those countries that delude themselves into thinking that they can lord
it over the world after winning the Cold War, those that keep driving NATO’s
eastward expansion five times in disregard of other countries’ security
concerns, and those that wage wars across the globe while accusing other
countries of being belligerent, that should really feel ‘uncomfortable’,” he
told reporters.
China and Russia have grown increasingly close in recent years, although
Beijing has never recognised Russia’s claim over Crimea, which Moscow
annexed in 2014.
The two countries conducted joint military and naval exercises at the end of
last year and issued a lengthy 5,000-word statement on February 4 against
the expansion of NATO, calling the security bloc a relic of the Cold War.
Putin, who appears to have developed a close bond with Xi, was in Beijing
shortly before the invasion for the opening of the Winter Olympic Games.
The two have met more than 30 times since 2013.