The Artemis I lunar mission mega-rocket is ready for its fourth attempt at a final pre-launch test, according to an update from NASA officials Wednesday.
The crucial test, known as the wet suit test, simulates every step of the launch without the rocket leaving the platform at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
This process includes loading supercold propellant, going through a full countdown simulating launch, resetting the countdown clock, and draining the rocket’s tanks.
The wet test results will determine when the unmanned Artemis I will launch on a mission beyond the Moon and back to Earth. This mission will kick off NASA’s Artemis program, which is expected to take humans to the moon again and land the first woman and first black person on the lunar surface by 2025.
Three previous attempts at the wet test in April were unsuccessful, concluding before the rocket could be fully loaded with propellant due to multiple leaks, which according to NASA have now been fixed.
The NASA team rolled the 98-meter-tall Artemis I rocket stack, including the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, back to the launch pad at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on June 6.
Wet rehearsal: what to expect
The Artemis rocket will begin its next attempt at the wet test on Saturday at 6pm ET with a “call to the stations” when all teams associated with the mission report that they are ready for the test to begin.
Preparations for the weekend will have the Artemis team ready to begin loading the booster into the mid-stage and upper stage of the rocket on Monday.
The test will be broadcast live on the NASA website, with commentary, starting at 8 am on Monday.
A two-hour test window will begin in the afternoon, with the Artemis team targeting the first countdown at 3:40 pm ET.
First, they will count down to 33 seconds before launch, then stop the cycle. The clock will reset, then the countdown will resume again and run until about 10 seconds before the launch occurs.
Previous wet test attempts have already completed many objectives on the list to prepare the rocket for launch, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director for NASA’s Earth Exploration Systems Program, said during a news conference on Wednesday. .
“We hope to get rid of them. [tentativas] this time and go through the cryogenic loading operations along with the terminal count,” she said. “Our team is ready to go and we look forward to getting back to this test.”
The mission team is now looking at several possible launch windows to send Artemis I on its journey to the Moon from August 23 to August 29, September 2 to September 6.
Once the Artemis rocket stack completes its wet trial, it will return to the space center’s Vehicle Assembly Building to await launch day.
There’s a long history behind the arduous process of testing new systems before launching a rocket, and what the Artemis team is facing is similar to what the Apollo-era and Space Shuttle teams experienced, including multiple test attempts and delays before of the launch.
“There is not a single person on the team who shies away from the responsibility we have to manage ourselves and our contractors and deliver, and delivering means meeting the flight test objectives for (Artemis I) and meeting the Artemis program objectives.” said Jim Free, associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, during the press conference.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
