The smooth running of the operation will determine the launch date of the Artemis 1 mission, the first of the American return to the Moon program (but which will not yet include an astronaut on board).
The test started Friday at around 5:00 p.m. local time, and is due to end late Sunday followingnoon.
For the past two weeks, the 98-meter-high rocket has been sitting on launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, with the Orion capsule perched atop it, where astronauts will settle in the future.
Friday, following the “call to the stations”, a countdown of more than 45 hours started. The rocket and the capsule must first be powered up, the communication systems checked, and a whole series of preparations carried out.
Then, regarding 8 hours before the fictitious liftoff, the rocket’s tanks will be filled with more than three million liters of fuel — liquid hydrogen and oxygen, respectively at temperatures of -267°C and – 170°C.
The countdown will finally be stopped at T-9 seconds, just before the ignition of the engines. The idea is to simulate a forced abandonment procedure, for example due to the weather or a technical problem.
Subsequently, the vehicle’s tanks will be emptied.
– Expected take-off date –
The US space agency plans to keep the general public informed of the various milestones reached via its blog throughout the weekend. A live video is also available on Youtube — but without sound. The reason given: some information may be sensitive.
Craft like SLS “are proving very similar to ballistic capabilities, which other countries may be interested in,” Tom Whitmeyer, head of exploration systems development at NASA, told a news conference this week. .
NASA will deliver the first results of this dress rehearsal on Monday.
But “it will take several days to really assess not only whether the test passed, but also whether we observed anything unusual that we need to correct,” warned Mr Whitmeyer.
He said he hoped for an announcement of a take-off date for Artemis 1 in the following days. The May launch window will most likely be missed, but more are possible in early June or early July.
After the general rehearsal, the rocket will be brought back to its hangar for a final series of checks, then taken out for takeoff.
Artemis 1 will mark the first flight of SLS, whose development took years behind schedule. The Orion capsule will be propelled to the Moon, where it will be placed in orbit before returning to Earth.
Humans won’t land on the Moon until Artemis 3, for now in 2025 at the earliest.
