Artemis is set for another "wet dress rehearsal."
According to ANU astronomer and cosmologist Dr. Brad Tucker in his statement with Sky News, NASA's Artemis 1 rocket is poised for another test on Saturday, June 18.
NASAs Artemis I Moon rocket sits at Launch Pad Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 15, 2022. - NASA is aiming for June 18, for the beginning of the next wet dress rehearsal test of the agencys Space Launch System (SLS) at the Kennedy Space Center, with tanking operations on June 20.
The test comes after a failed launch attempt back in April when the mission's team found several issues with the rocket. Tucker stated that all of the rocket's functions would be tested, except for launching it.
According to him, the wet dress rehearsal could last for 48 hours.
All About the Artemis Mission
On Wednesday, June 15, NASA officials conducted a conference call with the media to provide an update before the wet dress rehearsal on Saturday.
The Artemis 1 stack, which includes an Orion crew capsule and the SLS, was brought out to the Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center located in Florida last June 6.
Since then, mission teams have performed ground communication validations in preparation for the wet dress rehearsal.
Artemis 1 will serve as the very first launch for the SLS and will deliver an uncrewed Orion to the moon and back. This will be the spacecraft's second visit to the launch pad for testing, which will entail fueling the rocket and going through the processes of a real countdown up until T-10 seconds.
First Attempt
NASA attempted to do the wet dress in early April, fueling the SLS three times over the course of several days. However, after a hydrogen leak and other complications prevented the rocket from being fueled, the Artemis 1 crew decided to return the stack to KSC's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) in late April.
Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida were able to repair the SLS vehicle and associated ground systems in nearly a month, as well as gain a head start on several enhancements that had been scheduled for after the wet dress rehearsal.
According to Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, the spacecraft's stack has been completing validation testing for the past week at Pad 39B.
After Artemis 1's reentry to the pad, teams worked for many days to verify services and communication between the SLS mobile launch platform and NASA's command and control systems, as reported by Space.com.
The teams also completed booster servicing procedures this past weekend, including hypergolic fuel loading for the booster hydraulic power unit, which controls the rocket's thrust vector during flight.
The mechanism will be tested within 30-seconds of the upcoming wet dress rehearsal, according to Blackwell-Thompson.
NASA hopes that the wet dress rehearsal will yield positive results and keep Artemis 1 on schedule for the launch window sometime in August, but for now, their main priority is the wet dress.
Related Article : NASA Artemis I Update: SLS, Orion Rocket to Return to Launch Pad 39B in June for Wet Dress Rehearsal
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
