NASA has recently been testing an SLS Moon Rocket. They will not conduct another fueling or countdown test as of June 23, but instead, they will repair a Hydrogen leak. Then, the rocket will see its way to the launchpad at the Kentucky Space Center in Florida for the first launch attempt in late August.
A wet dress rehearsal is another name for a rocket test; NASA had completed most of this part. They filled over 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into two rocket booster stages. However, the countdown test was stopped with only 29 seconds remaining on the clock because of a Hydrogen leak.
NASA was still pleased with the results, however. Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the Artemis launch director, said that“It was a very successful day,” and that they “accomplished a majority of the objectives that we [they] had not completed in the prior tests”
After last week’s test, NASA had said they weren’t sure if they needed to do another one, which would have been the fifth attempt. However, just last Thursday, NASA said they had enough data to continue with the first launch attempt of the SLS rocket that they plan to use to put astronauts on the moon.
“NASA has reviewed the data from the rehearsal and determined the testing campaign is complete,” the agency told reporters. They would put the Orion crew capsule and the rocket back into the assembly building, repair the leak, and NASA would prepare the rocket for launch.
A window for the first-ever launch is set to be between August 23 and September 6. The launch, called the Artemis I, would send the Orion capsule (no astronauts would be on board), into the moon’s orbit. In around 2024, the Artemis I will be followed by Artemis II, which will include four astronauts in Orion. These astronauts would orbit around the moon but not land. The landing date depends on various successes and availabilities, but it’s estimated to occur in 2025.
A wet dress rehearsal is another name for a rocket test; NASA had completed most of this part. They filled over 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into two rocket booster stages. However, the countdown test was stopped with only 29 seconds remaining on the clock because of a Hydrogen leak.
NASA was still pleased with the results, however. Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the Artemis launch director, said that“It was a very successful day,” and that they “accomplished a majority of the objectives that we [they] had not completed in the prior tests”
After last week’s test, NASA had said they weren’t sure if they needed to do another one, which would have been the fifth attempt. However, just last Thursday, NASA said they had enough data to continue with the first launch attempt of the SLS rocket that they plan to use to put astronauts on the moon.
“NASA has reviewed the data from the rehearsal and determined the testing campaign is complete,” the agency told reporters. They would put the Orion crew capsule and the rocket back into the assembly building, repair the leak, and NASA would prepare the rocket for launch.
A window for the first-ever launch is set to be between August 23 and September 6. The launch, called the Artemis I, would send the Orion capsule (no astronauts would be on board), into the moon’s orbit. In around 2024, the Artemis I will be followed by Artemis II, which will include four astronauts in Orion. These astronauts would orbit around the moon but not land. The landing date depends on various successes and availabilities, but it’s estimated to occur in 2025.
