In this view looking up from the flame trench at Launch Pad 39B, NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft are photographed atop the mobile launcher at the firms Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 18, 2022. The Artemis I stack was carried from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad– a 4.2-mile journey that took almost 11 hours to finish– by the firms crawler-transporter 2 for a damp dress rehearsal ahead of the uncrewed launch. Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system previous to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the very first female and the very first individual of color on the lunar surface area, leading the way for a long-lasting lunar existence and working as a stepping stone on the way to Mars. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
In continued preparations for the Artemis I damp dress rehearsal test, with tanking targeted for Monday, groups experienced an issue maintaining helium purge pressure on the upper stage engine after change-out of a regulator on the mobile launcher. The RL10 engine on the upper stage utilizes helium to purge the engine and likewise to trigger upper stage valves throughout damp gown rehearsal operations.
After preliminary troubleshooting, the team reestablished regular helium purge, and is continuing work to figure out the reason for a limitation in the helium circulation. Engineers will carry out repairing tomorrow to identify and confirm system performance. If required, the objective management group will meet Sunday to disposition any changes in the procedures or adjustments in test goals as required.
After the wet gown wedding rehearsal test, SLS and Orion will return to the Vehicle Assembly Building, and engineers will carry out extra evaluations of the associated flight systems to even more assess system efficiency. The Space Launch System rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and the supporting ground system aspects stay in steady condition.
The countdown for the two-day test is currently slated to start with call to stations starting at 5 pm EDT on Saturday, April 9 with T-0 prepared for 2:40 pm on Monday, April 11. While engineers investigate the concern, teams continue to refine the test schedule to represent insights gotten throughout the previous runs and activities, or test objectives, that were finished earlier this week and no longer need to be included in the next test run, such as setting up ground assistance devices. Pending extra analysis, NASA anticipates to have a forward strategy tomorrow for wet gown rehearsal testing.
Inspect back at this website for an update on damp gown rehearsal screening for the Artemis I mission. NASA is streaming live video of the rocket and spacecraft on the Kennedy Newsroom YouTube channel. Real-time updates will be offered on the Exploration Ground Systems Twitter account with “go” for tanking.
In this view looking up from the flame trench at Launch Pad 39B, NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft are photographed atop the mobile launcher at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 18, 2022. Artemis I will evaluate SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. While engineers investigate the problem, groups continue to improve the test schedule to account for insights gained during the previous runs and activities, or test objectives, that were completed previously this week and no longer need to be consisted of in the next test run, such as setting up ground assistance equipment.
