NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission Takes Flight With Successful Launch From Kennedy Space Center

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Nov 16, 2022, 05:32 ET

First integrated test of NASA's deep space exploration systems: Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Exploration Ground Systems (EGS)

Jacobs providing innovative solutions and technologies in support of NASA's deep space human exploration program

DALLAS, Nov. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J) congratulates NASA on the successful launch of the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission, which lifted off Nov. 16 from historic Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Artemis I is the first test flight in a series of increasingly complex missions under Artemis, NASA's deep space human exploration endeavor, which aims to land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon and establish a sustainable human future in deep space.

Artemis I successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday Nov. 16; Photo Credit: Ben Bair.

Powered by the SLS rocket, the uncrewed test flight will send Orion on a trajectory to orbit the moon, returning to earth and culminating in a Pacific Ocean splashdown. As the prime contractor at KSC for NASA's Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program, Jacobs is responsible for receiving all SLS and Orion flight hardware, assembling and integrating all the components, developing the launch control software, conducting final test and checkout, transporting the vehicle to the pad, supporting the launch and helping conclude the mission with the recovery of Orion.

"NASA's Artemis I launch is a major milestone in the agency's new era of human spaceflight in deep space, and the first phase for humanity's return to the lunar surface," said Jacobs Critical Mission Solutions EVP and President Steve Arnette. "Jacobs teams across multiple NASA centers, contracts and programs are committed to providing innovative solutions and technologies in support of NASA's quest to explore deep space."

Jacobs is also supporting the SLS and Orion development at multiple NASA centers. That work includes extensive verification and validation testing of Artemis I flight components. At Marshall Space Flight Center, Jacobs supported NASA in completing the SLS rocket's structural testing campaign, a nearly three-year structural test series that qualified the structural design of multiple hardware elements for the rocket. At Johnson Space Center (JSC), a team of engineers developed and tested the Orion re-entry parachute system that will slow down the capsule for splashdown. Jacobs also worked across five NASA centers to help develop and successfully test the reliability of NASA's Orion launch abort system.

To enable the journey to the moon and beyond, trajectory models will play an important role in Artemis missions from launch through lunar surface operations. At JSC, a NASA and Jacobs team developed the trajectory plan for the orbital flight path of Artemis I.

As NASA's largest services contractor, Jacobs is a provider and integrator of full lifecycle aerospace capabilities, including design and construction; base, mission and launch operations; sustaining capital maintenance; secure and intelligent asset management; and development, modification, and testing processes for fixed assets supporting national government, military, defense and NASA, as well as commercial space companies.

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $14 billion in revenue and a talent force of more than 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visit jacobs.com and connect with Jacobs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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