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Braving uncommon sub-freezing temperatures, Kennedy Space Center workers pressed up with a dress-rehearsal countdown Sunday, readying NASA's immense Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for a captious fueling trial Monday to wide the mode for motorboat connected a formation to nonstop 4 astronauts connected a flight astir the moon.
The countdown began Saturday evening and volition proceed done the commencement of a simulated motorboat model opening astatine 9 p.m. EST Monday. The trial started 2 days precocious due to the fact that of predicted arctic weather on Florida's Space Coast. The delay, successful turn, pushed the motorboat of the Artemis II mission from Feb. 6 to nary earlier than the nighttime of Feb. 8 — which is Super Bowl Sunday.
A afloat satellite rises down NASA's Space Launch System satellite rocket atop pad 39B astatine the Kennedy Space Center. If a signifier countdown and fueling trial Monday spell well, NASA is expected to property up with motorboat of the Artemis II ngo connected Feb. 8, sending 4 astronauts connected a formation astir the moon.
NASA
Artemis II commandant Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen are successful pre-flight aesculapian quarantine astatine the Johnson Space Center successful Houston. Assuming the fueling trial goes well, they are expected to alert to the Florida spaceport aboriginal this week to hole for takeoff.
In the meantime, the motorboat squad planned to pump much than 750,000 gallons of supercold liquid oxygen and hydrogen substance into the Space Launch System rocket's 2 stages connected Monday to rehearse loading procedures portion making definite the booster's tanks and propellant strategy plumbing are leak-free.
"This trial volition tally the motorboat squad ... done a afloat scope of operations, including loading cryogenic liquid propellant into the SLS rocket's tanks, conducting a motorboat countdown, demonstrating the quality to recycle the countdown clock, and draining the tanks to signifier scrub procedures," NASA said successful a blog post. "These steps guarantee the squad is afloat prepared for motorboat day."
The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft, integrated for the Artemis II mission, are seen astatine Launch Pad 39B astatine the Kennedy Space Center successful Cape Canaveral, Florida, connected February 1, 2026 up of the archetypal crewed ngo to the Moon successful much than 50 years.
Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo /AFP via Getty Images
During the ramp-up to the SLS rocket's maiden formation successful 2022, aggregate leaks and different issues forced repeated delays. But motorboat manager Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said improvements and upgrades based connected lessons learned gave the squad a bully changeable astatine getting done the fueling cognition Monday without immoderate large problems.
The "wet dress" countdown called for propellants to statesman flowing into the SLS rocket conscionable aft 11 a.m. Monday. If each goes well, the tanks successful the 177-foot-tall halfway signifier and the 45-foot-tall Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, oregon ICPS, volition beryllium afloat loaded and successful "replenish" mode by astir 4:30 p.m.
In a mean motorboat countdown, the unit would caput for the pad soon aft substance loading to strap in, cheque their unit suits and verify bully communications with the motorboat team. But nary 1 volition beryllium connected committee for Monday's exercise. Instead, engineers program to enactment done a assortment of procedures that mightiness beryllium needed to header with unexpected problems connected motorboat day.
"This process simulates real-world conditions, including scenarios wherever a motorboat mightiness beryllium scrubbed owed to method oregon upwind issues," NASA said successful its blog post. "At the extremity of the test, the squad volition drain the propellant and reappraisal each information earlier mounting an authoritative people motorboat date."
Because of the perpetually changing positions of the Earth and satellite comparative to each other, on with lighting conditions and different factors, NASA lone has 5 motorboat opportunities successful February. The archetypal two, Feb. 6 and 7, are nary longer available, successful ample portion due to the fact that of the fueling trial delay.
The past 3 disposable motorboat days are Feb. 8, 10 and 11. If method issues oregon the upwind support the SLS connected the crushed past Feb. 11, the Artemis II ngo volition gaffe to a caller acceptable of motorboat opportunities betwixt March 3 and 11.
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