NASA said the last prelaunch test of Artemis I, an uncrewed mission that will serve as the first stage in the agency's ambitious goal to return people to the moon, has been postponed until mid-March. This might delay the release of Artemis I back to April or May.
When the Orion spacecraft rolls out to Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for testing next month, the mission's Space Launch System rocket, NASA's most powerful ever, will be surpassed. The wet dress rehearsal, as it's known, was initially slated for mid-February.
The wet dress rehearsal entails performing the whole set of activities for loading propellant into the fuel tanks as well as a launch countdown - in other words, everything required for a launch without actually launching.
"While the teams are not working any major issues, NASA has added additional time to complete closeout activities inside the VAB [Vehicle Assembly Building] prior to rolling the rocket out for the first time," agency officials wrote in a statement.
Teams with Exploration Ground Systems successfully lifted the Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis I mission inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on Oct. 20, 2021.
NASA Delays Artemis 1 Mission Wet Dress Rehearsal
Tom Whitmeyer, deputy chief of NASA's exploration department, declined to disclose a precise target date for the SLS rocket's long-awaited first flight during a teleconference with media, stating that engineers must first complete a "wet dress rehearsal."
According to a CBS News story, NASA wants to examine the results of that test before they can anticipate the period before they launch with a high degree of accuracy.
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The wet dress rehearsal could begin as early as March 8 on pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. On the other hand, Whitmeyer would only disclose that the two-week test is now scheduled for March.
Because the SLS will have to be carried back to Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building for post-test processing, the Artemis 1 mission - a voyage to deliver an unpiloted Orion crew capsule past the moon and back - would most likely be pushed back to any time between April 8 and April 23. The next launch window is from May 7 to May 21.
Here's What Prompted the Delay to March for the Wet Dress Rehearsal
Unlike in December, when a defective engine controller, or computer that controls one of the SLS's RS-25 engines, caused deployment to be postponed until the first part of January, this time, there is no one issue.
According to a report by Space News, Whitmeyer stated that they simply have a lot of stuff to wrap up. He stated that because the rocket is such a large vehicle, there is a lot of instrumentation that has to be completed.
The pandemic has also played a role, as seen by the recent increase in cases connected to the omicron variant. Mike Bolger, manager of NASA's Exploration Ground Systems program, said COVID-19 took everyone off guard simply because of the sheer number of occurrences. But, he continued, the situation looked to be improving as the number of new cases decreased.
Bolger also mentioned the volume of work and how meticulous they are. He also stated that the squad is making preparations to be ready when the game begins.
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