Students at Delta High School received a first-hand glimpse into the Artemis program, NASA’s first cislunar space program in over 50 years.
“As kids growing up, we were used to such space launches and it almost became mainstream,” commented Mike Adams, a Delta High instructor. “Being a youngster, I started viewing every jet flying over as another NASA launch. But it has been so long since anyone has gone beyond the space station, many do not even know about the Artemis program.”
In layman’s terms, the Artemis program is a NASA multistage program that was initiated in 2017 gearing toward a successful crew landing on the moon in 2028. Artemis I successfully completed a non-crewed flight in 2022. If all goes as planned, the world will see, next month, for the first time in over 50 years, four humans orbiting the moon. To put this in perspective, the International Space Station (ISS) orbits at a distance of 250 miles while the moon orbits at approximately 238,855 miles. Therefore, the four astronauts will be reaching an orbit over 238,000 miles from ISS.
“They (Lockheed Martin) contacted Mr. Lee, our school Superintendent, asking if our school would be interested in a launch party,” stated Adams. “He in turn asked me, and being the space nut I am, said most certainly!”
“Lockheed Martin is the main contractor with NASA on the Orion spacecraft,” continued Adams. They are responsible for the design, building, and testing of the capsule which holds the crew.”
Adams approached his Auto Cad class asking if there was any interest.
“Auto Cad is all about designing and drafting so I thought it would be a good fit,” explained Adams. “We studied and familiarized ourselves with rocket design in preparation for the zoom launch party. We compared it to the moon rockets of the 60s that were propelled by the largest single engine ever built. Now that caught their attention.”
The week ended and the class was prepped and ready for the zoom launch party but an expected package from Lockheed never arrived.
The day of the party was fast approaching, and no launch party packet had made its way to the school. Lockheed ultimately tracked the package to Anchorage, but it showed no signs of making it in time.
“I originally was going to cancel,” continued Adams. “But Mr. Lee said they were ready to launch so we went with it.
“The main purpose was to talk about the Orion capsule, the nose cone, as that is where Lockheed’s expertise and responsibilities are,” Adams said. “I was hoping some of my space enthusiasm had rubbed off on the students, but I wasn’t sure. However, as the zoom meeting progressed, so did their enthusiasm and curiosity about not just the nose cone, but Orion in general.”
Henry Alexander, a Delta High student, said one of his main reasons for attending the zoom was to learn about the fuel.
“I was more intrigued about the fuel than the actual rocket,” explained Alexander. “I mean how do you go from powering a car down the road to launching a rocket into outer space, deep outer space. In a way, I was surprised when the answer was primarily hydrogen as I thought it was going to be something far more complex.”
Jacob Cortes, who studies alternative energy, quizzed the engineer about solar energy, how many panels the craft would carry, and when and how it would be switching from fuel to solar during the mission.
Phillip Maslovtsov, a professed space enthusiast, was curious about the trip’s time frame.
“I know they are doing a single loop trip around the moon before returning to earth, but I was surprised the trip is only planned for 10 days. When you consider the relative distance, you think it would take longer,” mused Maslovtsov. “But 10 days it is.”
Despite owning a telescope and having multiple Space related apps on his phone, Maslovtsov is planning a career in heavy equipment.
“Space is more of a hobby for me,” explained Maslovtsov. “I plan to go into heavy equipment operating. But I will have to say the ultimate job would be operating the crawler NASA uses to move the space shuttle and rockets. I mean, who wouldn’t want to do that!”
Alexander intends to become an electrician but indicated he wouldn’t turn down a trip to the moon.
“Think about it!”, he said. “A once in a lifetime adventure. And I’m glad to see NASA considering a Mars trip. It is nice to see the world getting outside our general circle of to the moon and back and orbiting the earth.”
Both students admitted they weren’t really aware of the Artemis program until the launch party.
“I think it really opened the students’ eyes,” commented Adams. “You say the space program, and everything thinks about astronauts. We always focus on them and their training when it comes to the space program. But there is so much more. Engineers in all fields, electricians, heavy equipment operators, construction workers, computer technicians, they all play a role in getting those astronauts up above us.”
The launch is tentatively scheduled for March 7 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Anyone can watch the launch in real time by turning into NASA’s live broadcast on NASA TV and many streaming services.
