Braving uncommon sub-freezing temperatures, Kennedy House Heart employees pressed forward with a dress-rehearsal countdown Sunday, readying NASA’s large House Launch System (SLS) rocket for a important fueling check Monday to clear the best way for launch on a flight to ship 4 astronauts on a flight around the moon.
The countdown started Saturday night and can proceed by the beginning of a simulated launch window opening at 9 p.m. EST Monday. The check began two days late due to predicted arctic weather alongside Florida’s House Coast. The delay, in flip, pushed the launch of the Artemis II mission from Feb. 6 to no sooner than the evening of Feb. 8 — which is Tremendous Bowl Sunday.
NASA
Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen are in pre-flight medical quarantine on the Johnson House Heart in Houston. Assuming the fueling check goes effectively, they’re anticipated to fly to the Florida spaceport later this week to organize for takeoff.
Within the meantime, the launch group deliberate to pump greater than 750,000 gallons of supercold liquid oxygen and hydrogen gasoline into the House Launch System rocket’s two levels on Monday to rehearse loading procedures whereas ensuring the booster’s tanks and propellant system plumbing are leak-free.
“This check will run the launch group … by a full vary of operations, together with loading cryogenic liquid propellant into the SLS rocket’s tanks, conducting a launch countdown, demonstrating the flexibility to recycle the countdown clock, and draining the tanks to observe scrub procedures,” NASA stated in a weblog submit. “These steps make sure the group is absolutely ready for launch day.”
Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo /AFP by way of Getty Pictures 
Throughout the ramp-up to the SLS rocket’s maiden flight in 2022, a number of leaks and different points compelled repeated delays. However launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson stated enhancements and upgrades primarily based on classes realized gave the group shot at getting by the fueling operation Monday with none main issues.
The “moist gown” countdown known as for propellants to start flowing into the SLS rocket simply after 11 a.m. Monday. If all goes effectively, the tanks within the 177-foot-tall core stage and the 45-foot-tall Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, or ICPS, will likely be absolutely loaded and in “replenish” mode by round 4:30 p.m.
In a traditional launch countdown, the crew would head for the pad shortly after gasoline loading to strap in, verify their strain fits and confirm good communications with the launch group. However nobody will likely be on board for Monday’s train. As an alternative, engineers plan to work by quite a lot of procedures that is perhaps wanted to deal with sudden issues on launch day.
“This course of simulates real-world situations, together with eventualities the place a launch is perhaps scrubbed as a result of technical or climate points,” NASA stated in its weblog submit. “On the finish of the check, the group will drain the propellant and evaluation all information earlier than setting an official goal launch date.”
Due to the consistently altering positions of the Earth and moon relative to one another, together with lighting situations and different elements, NASA solely has 5 launch alternatives in February. The primary two, Feb. 6 and seven, are not out there, largely due to the fueling check delay.
The final three out there launch days are Feb. 8, 10 and 11. If technical points or the climate preserve the SLS on the bottom previous Feb. 11, the Artemis II mission will slip to a contemporary set of launch alternatives between March 3 and 11.
