Instead of running more fueling and countdown tests on its new moon rocket, NASA will simply repair a hydrogen leak, then return it to the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in late August for the initial launch.
NASA’s simulated tests for their moon rocket are known as a ‘wet dress rehearsal’[s] where NASA’s workers fuel the rocket’s two stages with a total of over 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The simulated countdown only had twenty-nine seconds to go, but they found a hydrogen leak and had to stop the countdown early.
Even though the simulated practice wasn’t as they had planned to be, NASA was still pleased with the results. “It was a great day. It was a very successful day, and we accomplished a majority of the objectives that we had not completed in the prior tests,” Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the director of the launch, explained to reporters after the test.
After the test, NASA officials were still unsure whether they should complete another test or simply just send the SLS rocket into space, which would hopefully return astronauts to the moon. However, later, the NASA officials had received enough data to go ahead with the primary launch of the SLS rocket. The first launch is planned to occur August 23rd and September 6th.
The rocket and the Orion crew are to be sent back into the assembly building, repaired from any damage, such as changing the hardware that caused the leak. Then the rocket will be prepared for its first launch into space.
The plan of the launch, known as Artemis I, will send the Orion capsule first into orbit around the moon. No astronauts would be aboard the rocket. After in the year 2024, Artemis I will be followed by Artemis II, where four astronauts would fly around the moon, but never land on the surface. It’s predicted that the first landing won’t come until the year 2025, but each step depends on how successful the last one is.
NASA’s simulated tests for their moon rocket are known as a ‘wet dress rehearsal’[s] where NASA’s workers fuel the rocket’s two stages with a total of over 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The simulated countdown only had twenty-nine seconds to go, but they found a hydrogen leak and had to stop the countdown early.
Even though the simulated practice wasn’t as they had planned to be, NASA was still pleased with the results. “It was a great day. It was a very successful day, and we accomplished a majority of the objectives that we had not completed in the prior tests,” Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the director of the launch, explained to reporters after the test.
After the test, NASA officials were still unsure whether they should complete another test or simply just send the SLS rocket into space, which would hopefully return astronauts to the moon. However, later, the NASA officials had received enough data to go ahead with the primary launch of the SLS rocket. The first launch is planned to occur August 23rd and September 6th.
The rocket and the Orion crew are to be sent back into the assembly building, repaired from any damage, such as changing the hardware that caused the leak. Then the rocket will be prepared for its first launch into space.
The plan of the launch, known as Artemis I, will send the Orion capsule first into orbit around the moon. No astronauts would be aboard the rocket. After in the year 2024, Artemis I will be followed by Artemis II, where four astronauts would fly around the moon, but never land on the surface. It’s predicted that the first landing won’t come until the year 2025, but each step depends on how successful the last one is.
