Good news for NASA’s Lucy spacecraft, the solar array of which is now almost completely deployed.

NASA has set an aggressive launch target for its following the of the SLS rocket that will carry the flight to space. In an interview with , Jim Free, associate administrator with the agency’s Explorations Systems Development program, said this week NASA is working toward an August 23rd to September 6th launch window for Aretmis 1. “That’s the one we’re targeting,” Free told the outlet. “We’d be foolish not to target that right now. We made incredible progress last week.”

For those keeping track, NASA recently the earliest it could get Artemis 1 in space following a successful fueling test of the SLS was between July 26th and August 10th. Instead, NASA selected the second earliest launch window it had open to it.

Before the flight can get underway, technicians must complete final preparations on the SLS rocket, including replacing a seal that led to a hydrogen leak during its June 20th test. NASA began rolling the SLS back to the Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where staff will work on the launch vehicle, on. “I don’t think we’re stretching ourselves to get there,” Free said. “We’re probably pushing ourselves a little bit, but we’re not going to do something stupid.”

This episode focuses on many of the problems with travel between stars at relativistic velocities, like collision avoidance, radiation, ship geometry, armor, and point-defense.

We will also look at some of the possible engine types and discuss realistic maximum speeds they offer.

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Cover Art by Jakub Grygier: https://www.artstation.com/artist/jakub_grygier.

Special Thanks to Liam Davis of Lombus, for use of the song “Hydrogen Sonata”, available here:
https://lombus.bandcamp.com/album/space-engine-ep

This episode is the second of a three-part series focusing more on the specifics of colonization including the human aspect of it. Having laid the groundwork last time, we now ask ourselves what the ships carrying people to new worlds would be like, and what life aboard them would be like.

Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net.
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/
Support the Channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur.
Visit the sub-reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/
Listen or Download the audio of this episode from Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/isaac-arthur-148927746/life-in-a-space-colony-episode-2
Cover Art by Jakub Grygier: https://www.artstation.com/artist/jakub_grygier