The NASA team is preparing to roll up the 322-foot (98-meter-high) Artemis I rocket stack, including the spacecraft system and the Orion spacecraft, back on the deck platform. launch June 6 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch is expected to take about 12 hours.
The Artemis rocket will go through its next attempt at the wet clothes test no earlier than June 19th. As June can bring many emerging storms to Florida, the NASA team will be closely monitoring the weather and adjusting the dates as needed. .
The crucial test, known as the wet suit test, simulates each stage of the launch without the rocket exiting the launch pad. This process includes loading superfred propellant, going through a full countdown simulating the launch, resetting the countdown clock, and draining the tanks from the rockets.
After three attempts at the wet test in April, on April 26 the rocket stack was taken back to the vehicle assembly building to resolve any issues that arose during the test attempts.
Since then, engineers have replaced and tested a check valve in the upper stage and fixed a small leak inside the umbilical of the tail service pole that is used during feeding, Cliff Lanham said. , senior director of vehicle operations for NASA’s Earth Exploration Systems program.
Meanwhile, Air Liquide, which supplies nitrogen gas to the launch pad, has updated and tested its piping configuration to better support Artemis I testing and launch.
The Artemis team also marked some breakthrough tasks that were originally supposed to take place after the next wet dress rehearsal.
The mission team is now looking out the launch windows to send Artemis I on its journey to the moon in late summer: July 26-August 9, August 23-29 from August 2 to September 6 and beyond.
Once the Artemis rocket stack completes the wet general rehearsal, it will return to the building to wait for launch day.
There is a long history behind the arduous process of testing new systems before launching a rocket, and what the Artemis team faces is similar to what the Apollo-era teams experienced and the shuttle, including multiple test attempts and pre-launch delays.
The results of the general wet test will determine when the unmanned Artemis I will be launched on a mission that goes beyond the Moon and back to Earth. This mission will launch NASA’s Artemis program, which is expected to return humans to the moon and land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface in 2025.