International
New launch attempt Saturday for NASA’s Moon rocket
AFP
NASA will make a second attempt to launch its powerful new Moon rocket on Saturday, after scrubbing a test flight earlier in the week, an official said Tuesday.
The highly anticipated uncrewed mission — dubbed Artemis 1 — will bring the United States a step closer to returning astronauts to the Moon five decades after humans last walked on the lunar surface.
Mission manager Mike Sarafin, said the NASA team “agreed to move our launch date to Saturday, September the third.”
Blastoff had been planned for Monday morning but was canceled because a test to get one of the rocket’s four RS-25 engines to the proper temperature range for launch was not successful.
Sarafin announced the date for the new launch attempt during a media briefing on Tuesday, and NASA later tweeted that the two-hour launch window on Saturday would begin at 2:17 pm (1817 GMT).
Launch weather officer Mark Burger said there is a 60 percent chance of rain or thunderstorms on the day of the launch, but added that there is still a “pretty good opportunity weather-wise to launch on Saturday.”
The goal of Artemis 1, named after the twin sister of Apollo, is to test the 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule that sits on top.
Mannequins equipped with sensors are standing in for astronauts on the mission and will record acceleration, vibration and radiation levels.
Tens of thousands of people — including US Vice President Kamala Harris — had gathered to watch the launch, 50 years after Apollo 17 astronauts last set foot on the Moon.
Ahead of the planned Monday launch, operations to fill the orange-and-white rocket with ultra-cold liquid hydrogen and oxygen were briefly delayed by a risk of lightning.
A potential leak was detected during the filling of the main stage with hydrogen, causing a pause. After tests, the flow resumed.
NASA engineers later detected the engine temperature problem and decided to scrub the launch.
“The way the sensor is behaving… doesn’t line up with the physics of the situation,” said John Honeycutt, manager of the Space Launch System program, adding that such issues with sensors were “not terribly unusual.”
Sarafin said the team would reconvene on Thursday to assess the situation.
– Orbiting the Moon –
The Orion capsule is to orbit the Moon to see if the vessel is safe for people in the near future. At some point, Artemis aims to put a woman and a person of color on the Moon for the first time.
During the 42-day trip, Orion will follow an elliptical course around the Moon, coming within 60 miles (100 kilometers) at its closest approach and 40,000 miles at its farthest — the deepest into space by a craft designed to carry humans.
One of the main objectives is to test the capsule’s heat shield, which at 16 feet in diameter is the largest ever built.
On its return to Earth’s atmosphere, the heat shield will have to withstand speeds of 25,000 miles per hour and a temperature of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius) — roughly half as hot as the Sun.
NASA is expected to spend $93 billion between 2012 and 2025 on the Artemis program, which is already years behind schedule, at a cost of $4.1 billion per launch.
The next mission, Artemis 2, will take astronauts into orbit around the Moon without landing on its surface.
The crew of Artemis 3 is to land on the Moon in 2025 at the earliest.
And since humans have already visited the Moon, Artemis has its sights set on another lofty goal: a crewed mission to Mars.
The Artemis program aims to establish a lasting human presence on the Moon with an orbiting space station known as Gateway and a base on the surface.
Gateway would serve as a staging and refueling station for a voyage to the Red Planet that would take a minimum of several months.
International
Costa Rica hails appointment of Japan’s first female Prime Minister, Takaichi Sanae
The Government of Costa Rica on Tuesday congratulated Japan on the appointment of Takaichi Sanae as the country’s first female prime minister and reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening bilateral relations in multiple areas.
“The Government of Costa Rica extends its warmest congratulations to the Government and people of Japan on the election of Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae. Costa Rica celebrates this decision, made by the Japanese Parliament, which for the first time places a woman in such a high office,” the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry said in an official statement.
Costa Rica also reiterated its “strong commitment to further strengthening the traditional bonds of friendship and cooperation between both nations,” and to promoting joint initiatives “based on mutual respect, multilateralism, and shared democratic values.”
The statement also conveyed Costa Rica’s “best wishes for success” to Prime Minister Takaichi and expressed its “hopes for the well-being and prosperity of the Japanese people.”
Takaichi officially became Japan’s first female head of government on Tuesday after winning a parliamentary vote to succeed Shigeru Ishiba, who resigned in September following poor electoral results during his little more than a year in office.
International
Colombian court overturns ex-president Uribe’s conviction for witness tampering
Colombia’s judiciary overturned on Tuesday a conviction against former President Álvaro Uribe for witness tamperingin a case linked to his alleged ties with anti-guerrilla paramilitary groups.
The 73-year-old right-wing leader had become in August the first Colombian ex-president to be criminally convictedand sentenced to 12 years of house arrest for bribery and procedural fraud, following a first-instance ruling that his defense immediately appealed.
However, a judge from the Bogotá Superior Court annulled the conviction, ruling that there was insufficient evidenceto incriminate Uribe. The court also deemed the wiretaps used as evidence illegal and pointed to methodological flaws in the original ruling.
Leftist Senator Iván Cepeda, who filed the complaint against Uribe, announced he will file an appeal in cassation before the Supreme Court of Justice. Speaking at a press conference, Cepeda said he received the decision with “calm and respect,” though he disagreed with it.
After a six-hour reading of the verdict, the hearing concluded with Uribe attending virtually.
Uribe, who governed from 2002 to 2010, spent about 20 days under house arrest before being released on a previous court decision—the same court that has now overturned his conviction.
International
Venezuela accuses U.S. of using anti-drug operations as pretext to target Maduro
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino criticized on Tuesday what he described as the greater lethality of U.S. anti-drug operations in the Caribbean compared to those in the Pacific, where most drug trafficking routes are concentrated.
Venezuela maintains that the real goal of the U.S. military deployment in the region is to oust President Nicolás Maduro, rather than to combat drug trafficking as claimed by the White House.
Since September, the United States has reported seven attacks in the Caribbean against vessels allegedly linked to Venezuelan drug trafficking. President Donald Trump himself has shared videos of airstrikes on speedboats, with at least 32 people killed in these operations.
“The interdictions carried out in the Pacific do not receive the same treatment as those here in the Caribbean Sea,” Padrino said during a state television broadcast. “What is the real purpose behind this U.S. air and naval deployment in the Caribbean? Is it really about drug trafficking?” he asked.
Venezuelan authorities argue that only 5% of the drugs produced in Colombia leave through Venezuelan territorytoward the Caribbean, claiming that most shipments travel through the Pacific on their way to the United States.
The government also reports an increase in domestic anti-drug operations, showcased by state media, involving the destruction of clandestine airstrips and laboratories, and the seizure of boats, vehicles, and weapons, as well as the shooting down of aircraft allegedly used by traffickers.
On Tuesday, Padrino presented a report on several of these operations alongside the military commanders who led them.
Costa Rica hails appointment of Japan’s first female Prime Minister, Takaichi Sanae
Colombian court overturns ex-president Uribe’s conviction for witness tampering
Venezuela accuses U.S. of using anti-drug operations as pretext to target Maduro
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
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