Orion/Artemis Programs Update:Major Test Mission Upcoming,Mobile Launch Platform rolls

A major milestone for the Orion Program is slated for 2 July 2019 with the launch of the Ascent Abort-2 flight test.The test will be launched from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,Florida.*
AA-2 will verify that the Orion spacecraft abort system can pull the crew module away from an emergency during its ascent to space,NASA said.The flight will last about three minutes,with a small booster rocket sending Orion around six miles into the atmosphere.During AA-2,the spacecraft will experience high-stress aerodynamic conditions,and at that point the abort sequence will be triggered to spirit the crew module to safety.*
The Orion Program provides the crew module,European Service Module and Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis lunar exploration missions and missions to other deep space destinations.The first lunar landing mission of the Artemis Program has a preferred launch date of 2024,as stipulated by President Donald Trump.It must be noted,however,that this depends upon the US Congress providing extra funding to NASA to expedite the lunar mission,which will otherwise be put off till 2028.NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said he is confident NASA can get the extra money,but others outside the agency are not so sure.*
Artemis is the ancient Greek goddess of the Moon,so her name was selected for the lunar missions to mirror the Apollo name of the first set of lunar missions.NASA plans for a female astronaut to be the first woman to set foot on the moon on the initial Artemis lunar landing mission.*
A number of companies are developing lunar lander concepts for NASA's consideration for the initial landing mission,including Lockheed Martin and the privately held Blue Origin LLC.*
On 27 June 2019,the Mobile Launch Platform rolled out of the massive Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center and slowly progressed to Launch Complex 39B,where it will undergo three months of testing for the Artemis 1 mission scheduled for June 2020.Artemis 1 was formerly called Exploration Mission 1;but its purpose remains to conduct an uncrewed test of the integrated Orion system,including the new Space Launch System rocket,in cislunar space.
Lockheed Martin (LMT)