NASA Plans Artemis Test Flight in November
Local News Staff 
NASA's return to the moon may happen sooner than most realize. As early as 2024, the space agency plans on sending a manned crew back to our nearest celestial body aboard the Artemis rocket system. NASA will test the system in an unmanned flight this November at the Kennedy Space Center.
On Thursday, the rocket underwent a final hot fire test at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Firing for a total of eight minutes, the rocket simulated the thrust and time necessary to travel 100 miles beyond the confining grip of the Earth's gravitational pull.
NASA said the dry run, known as a Green Light test, confirmed that the engines fired as expected and will be ready for the scheduled unmanned launch this autumn. Thursday’s hot fire generated 2 million pounds of thrust, enough to send the more than 200-foot-tall core stage to the moon. The core stage weighs about 2.3 millions pounds, which includes 733,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellent.
Many local residents once employed during the Shuttle years hold high hopes for a rennaissance in the space coast economy during the next decade of moonshots and manned launches.
