The first launch of NASA’s SLS will be pushed to late August. The rocket will not have a fueling and countdown test because of a hydrogen leak, but once fixed, the rocket will be rolled back onto the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center and sent into space for the first time.
NASA almost finished a “wet dress rehearsal” test this week by filling up both stages, sections of a rocket that can be split apart, of the SLS with more than 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. However, there was a hydrogen leak with 29 seconds to go. Even with this problem, NASA was still happy with the results.
“It was a great day,” Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told reporters. “It was a very successful day, and we accomplished a majority of the objectives that we had not completed in the prior” tests.
However, NASA was unsure whether the test needed to be conducted again (for a total of 5 trials). Fortunately for NASA, they said last Thursday that they had enough data to proceed with the first launch of the SLS, which NASA hopes to bring astronauts back to the moon.
“NASA has reviewed the data from the rehearsal and determined the testing campaign is complete,” NASA said. The first launch will be between August 23rd and September 6th this year.
The upcoming launch of the SLS will be known as Artemis I – named after the Greek goddess and a reference to the Apollo Program – will send an Orion capsule into space without any astronauts. Following Artemis I, Artemis II will send an Orion capsule with astronauts onboard to orbit the moon in 2024. Finally, after Artemis II completes its mission, Artemis III will send astronauts to the moon for the first time in over five decades in 2025.
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/23/nasa-moon-sls-rcoket-launch/
NASA almost finished a “wet dress rehearsal” test this week by filling up both stages, sections of a rocket that can be split apart, of the SLS with more than 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. However, there was a hydrogen leak with 29 seconds to go. Even with this problem, NASA was still happy with the results.
“It was a great day,” Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told reporters. “It was a very successful day, and we accomplished a majority of the objectives that we had not completed in the prior” tests.
However, NASA was unsure whether the test needed to be conducted again (for a total of 5 trials). Fortunately for NASA, they said last Thursday that they had enough data to proceed with the first launch of the SLS, which NASA hopes to bring astronauts back to the moon.
“NASA has reviewed the data from the rehearsal and determined the testing campaign is complete,” NASA said. The first launch will be between August 23rd and September 6th this year.
The upcoming launch of the SLS will be known as Artemis I – named after the Greek goddess and a reference to the Apollo Program – will send an Orion capsule into space without any astronauts. Following Artemis I, Artemis II will send an Orion capsule with astronauts onboard to orbit the moon in 2024. Finally, after Artemis II completes its mission, Artemis III will send astronauts to the moon for the first time in over five decades in 2025.
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/23/nasa-moon-sls-rcoket-launch/
