NASA Artemis I Update: Preparations Continue, SLS Rocket’s Core Stage Powered Up

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NASA Artemis I Update: Preparations Continue, SLS Rocket’s Core Stage Powered Up

Overnight, launch controllers powered up the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage. Communications links between Orion and the Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center in Houston were verified, and preparations of the four RS-25 engines, which will not be lit during

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The Moon serves as a background for the Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 21, 2022. The SLS and Orion atop the mobile launcher were transported to the pad on crawler-transporter 2 for a prelaunch test called a wet dress rehearsal. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a stepping stone on the way to Mars. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Overnight, launch controllers powered up the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage. Communications links between Orion and the Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center in Houston were verified, and preparations of the four RS-25 engines, which will not be lit during the wet dress rehearsal, continued. Over the next several hours, controllers will charge Orion’s batteries and conduct final preparations and closeout activities for the umbilicals.

The umbilicals provide power, communications, coolant, and fuel to different parts of the rocket. Additional accessories provide access and stabilize the rocket and spacecraft. During launch, each umbilical releases from its connection point, allowing the rocket and spacecraft to lift off safely from the launch pad.

The mission management team is scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. EDT to review the status of operations. The next update will be posted after the conclusion of the meeting.

NASA will provide live updates on the Exploration Ground Systems Twitter account. NASA is also streaming live video of the rocket and spacecraft at Launch Pad 39B on the Kennedy Newsroom YouTube channel.

 

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NASA: SLS rocket set to roll out again for critical test at Kennedy Space Center

NASA's Space Launch System moon rocket is set for another rollout at Kennedy Space Center after previous attempts to load fuel were cut short.

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NASA: SLS rocket set to roll out again for critical test at Kennedy Space Center​

NASA's Space Launch System moon rocket is set for its second rollout at Kennedy Space Center next month after several previous attempts to load fuel, known as a wet dress rehearsal, were cut short due to technical issues.

After making fixes to the 322-foot rocket and the system used by an off-center nitrogen supplier, NASA officials on Friday said SLS is on track for a rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building to pad 39B starting at midnight on June 6. The late-night timing should give teams some breathing room to work around typical Florida thunderstorms.

Four previous WDR attempts in March and April were scrubbed due to several issues with the rocket, ground systems, and offsite supplier Air Liquide's ability to pump enough nitrogen to pad 39B. Nitrogen is used to quickly clear other gases from an area.

NASA's Cliff Lanham, a senior vehicle operations manager, laid out some of the changes:

• Bolts on an umbilical were loose and had to be re-tightened;
• Replaced a helium valve on the rocket's Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, or ICPS, which is a United Launch Alliance-built second stage;
• Modified umbilicals leading to ICPS;
• Worked with Air Liquide, located just south of KSC on State Road 3, to conduct a 34-hour nitrogen test.

Lanham said one upside to rolling back without completing a WDR meant teams could work ahead of schedule on things that they had to do anyway, like opening the Orion capsule and loading science payloads.

"The vehicle itself is a very straightforward vehicle, but any time you get into loading operations with cryogenics, it's something you have to take one step at a time," Tom Whitmeyer, NASA's deputy associate administrator for exploration systems, told reporters Friday. "All the things we've seen so far have been very positive in terms of the actual performance, but we are still working through some of our processing."

Whitmeyer said NASA will add some schedule buffer in the event that teams need to conduct more than one WDR. A completed rehearsal will be required before making that decision.