The NASA team is preparing to launch a 322-foot (98-meter) Artemis I rocket stack, including the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft, back to the launch site at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida later this month.
The crucial test, known as the wet dress rehearsal, simulates each stage of the launch without the rocket leaving the launch pad. This process involves refueling, going through a full countdown, simulating a launch, resetting the countdown clock, and draining the rocket tanks.
After three attempts at a wet dress rehearsal in April, the rocket stack was returned to the vehicle assembly building on April 26 to resolve issues that arose during the test attempts.
So far, the team is working to replace a defective non-return valve on the upper stage of the rocket, which created a helium leak, and fix the source of hydrogen leak from the tailgate. Meanwhile, Air Liquide, which delivers nitrogen gas to the launch site, is upgrading its pipeline configuration to better support the testing and launch of Artemis I.
When inspecting the non-return valve, the team found a small piece of rubber that prevented it from sealing properly, said Jim Free, assistant administrator of NASA’s Research Systems Development Mission Directorate, during a news conference Thursday.
No problems were found with the valve, and engineers are investigating the source of the tire, as it was not originally part of the valve, Free said. The team also narrowed down the potential causes of the hydrogen leak.
Once the rocket returns to the launch site in late May, it will take between 12 and 14 days before the rocket goes through another wet dress rehearsal, which could take place in early to mid-June, Free said.
“We’ve done a lot of work to prepare the rocket to return to the launch site,” said Cliff Lanham, senior vehicle operations manager for NASA’s ground-based research program at the Kennedy Space Center. “Stopping VAB is a pit stop to go back, do what we have to do and get back on site as quickly as possible. So we’re working hard to achieve that goal.”
The Artemis team is now looking at the launch windows to send Artemis I on its trip to the moon in late summer: between July 26 and August 9, August 23 to August 29 and September 2 to September 6.
“We also want to be realistic and honest with you that it can take more than one attempt to get the procedures where we need them, for a smoother number of starts, which gives us the best chance to make our windows to launch, “Free said.
After the Artemis rocket completes its wet dress rehearsal, it will return to the building to await the day of the launch.
There is a long history behind the difficult process of testing new systems before launching a rocket, and what the Artemis team faces is similar to what the Apollo-era and shuttle-era teams have experienced, including numerous attempts at testing and delays before the launch.
The results of the wet dress rehearsal will determine when Artemis I, unmanned, will embark on a mission that goes beyond the moon and returns to Earth. This mission will mark the beginning of NASA’s Artemis program, which is expected to bring people back to the moon and land the first woman and the first man of color on the lunar surface by 2025.
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