On Thursday, NASA decided it won’t conduct another fueling and countdown test of its new
moon rocket. Instead, it will work to repair a hydrogen leak in the interface before rolling it back to the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in late August for its first launch attempt.
NASA got most of the way through the “wet dress rehearsal” test this week, fully fueling the
Space Launch System rocket’s two stages with more than 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. But the simulated countdown was cut short 29 seconds to go because of a hydrogen leak. Still NASA was pleased with the results, saying, “It was a great day.”
Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the Artemis launch director, told reporters after the test, “It was
a very successful day, and we accomplished a majority of the objectives that we had not
completed in the prior tests.”
After the test this week, NASA officials said they were unsure whether they would need to redo a fueling and countdown test, which would have marked the fifth attempt. However, on
Thursday, they said they had enough data to proceed with the first-ever launch attempt of the
massive SLS rocket that the agency plans to use to return astronauts to the moon.
“NASA has reviewed the data from the rehearsal and determined the testing campaign is
complete,” the agency said in a statement. The agency would roll the rocket as well as the Orion crew capsule back into the assembly building, repair the leak, and prepare the rocket and spacecraft for launch.
“NASA will set a specific target launch date after replacing hardware associated with the leak,” the agency said in another statement. The first launch window would come between August 23rd and September 6th.
That launch, known as Artemis I, would send the Orion capsule, without any astronauts on
board, into orbit around the moon. It would be followed by Artemis II, possibly in 2024, in which
four astronauts would fly in Orion around the moon but not land. The first landing is expected
to come in 2025, but that date depends on the success of the prior missions and the availability of the vehicle.
moon rocket. Instead, it will work to repair a hydrogen leak in the interface before rolling it back to the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in late August for its first launch attempt.
NASA got most of the way through the “wet dress rehearsal” test this week, fully fueling the
Space Launch System rocket’s two stages with more than 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. But the simulated countdown was cut short 29 seconds to go because of a hydrogen leak. Still NASA was pleased with the results, saying, “It was a great day.”
Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the Artemis launch director, told reporters after the test, “It was
a very successful day, and we accomplished a majority of the objectives that we had not
completed in the prior tests.”
After the test this week, NASA officials said they were unsure whether they would need to redo a fueling and countdown test, which would have marked the fifth attempt. However, on
Thursday, they said they had enough data to proceed with the first-ever launch attempt of the
massive SLS rocket that the agency plans to use to return astronauts to the moon.
“NASA has reviewed the data from the rehearsal and determined the testing campaign is
complete,” the agency said in a statement. The agency would roll the rocket as well as the Orion crew capsule back into the assembly building, repair the leak, and prepare the rocket and spacecraft for launch.
“NASA will set a specific target launch date after replacing hardware associated with the leak,” the agency said in another statement. The first launch window would come between August 23rd and September 6th.
That launch, known as Artemis I, would send the Orion capsule, without any astronauts on
board, into orbit around the moon. It would be followed by Artemis II, possibly in 2024, in which
four astronauts would fly in Orion around the moon but not land. The first landing is expected
to come in 2025, but that date depends on the success of the prior missions and the availability of the vehicle.
