MADRID, 18 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
NASA’s new SLS lunar megarocket with the Orion capsule of the Artemis I mission was launched on March 18 at launch complex 39b in the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
rocket takeoff –111 meters high and weighing 130 tons– and is currently planned no sooner than May on an unmanned round trip to the lunar environment of between two weeks and a month.
Engineers will now perform the final launch test, known as Wet Dress Rehearsal, which includes operations to load propellant into the rocket’s tanks, perform a full launch countdown, demonstrate the ability to recycle the countdown clock, and also drain the tanks to give them the opportunity to practice the schedules and procedures used in launching, reports NASA.
During the approximately two-day test, teams will begin by activating the facilities necessary for launch and formally beginning the countdown sequence. Launch controllers will power up different rocket systems and spacecraft, along with ground support teams.
The teams will then load more than 2.6 tons of cryogenic or super-cold propellants, including liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, into the rocket on the launch pad of the mobile launcher according to the detailed schedule they will use on actual launch day. They will practice each phase of the countdown, including weather briefingspre-planned holds on the countdown, conditioning and replenishment of thrusters as needed, and validation checks.
During Wet Dress Rehearsal, once launch controllers reach the point just before the rocket’s RS-25 motors fire on launch day, they will return to the T-10 minute point and then resume counting down once more after a wait. The team will then deliberately stop the countdown approximately 10 seconds before simulated liftoff to demonstrate how to stop a launch and drain the rocket’s propellants. Launch controllers may decide not to proceed with the launch if a technical or weather issue arises during or before the countdown, so Demonstrating the ability to remove propellants will ensure teams are prepared for various launch day scenarios.
Several days after the Wet Dress Rehearsal, the integrated rocket and spacecraft will return to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). At the VAB, technicians will extend platforms to restore access to various parts of the rocket and spacecraft. They will remove sensors used specifically for monitoring during the wet dress rehearsal, charge batteries in Orion and other systems, store late charge in Orion, and perform final checks on various items, among other tasks. Orion and SLS will hit the launch pad for the last time about a week before launch.
NASA will review the test data before setting a specific target launch date for the launch of Artemis I, no earlier than May.