The test results will determine when the unpaid Artemis I will be launched on a mission that transcends the moon and returns to Earth. This mission will launch NASA’s Artemis program, which is expected to return humans to the Moon and land the first woman and the first colored person on the lunar surface by 2025. The wet dress rehearsal simulates each launch step without the rocket actually leaving the launch site. This includes loading supercool propellant into the rocket tanks, performing a full launch simulation countdown, resetting the countdown clock, and draining the rocket tanks. The test will begin with a call to stations on Friday at 5 p.m. ET and will end on Sunday afternoon with the final countdown. The call to the stations, which is a check-in with every team involved in a launch, “is a big milestone because it’s time to call our teams to let them know that the wet dress rehearsal rehearsal is officially underway “, he said. Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director for NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems program, during a press conference on Tuesday.
The test run includes a countdown
Once the rocket is loaded with more than 700,000 gallons (3.2 million liters) of propulsion, the teams on Sunday will take all the steps towards launch. “Liquid hydrogen is negative at 450 degrees Fahrenheit (negative 268 degrees Celsius), liquid oxygen is negative 273 (negative 169 degrees Celsius), so they are very cold substances,” said Tom Whitmeyer, associate associate development consultant. at NASA. Headquarters during the press conference. “I used to do it back in the Shuttle program and it’s like watching a ballet. You have pressure, intensity and temperature. And you really work all those parameters to have a successful tank business.” Team members will count down to one minute and 30 seconds before the launch and stop to ensure they can hold the start for three minutes, continue and let the clock drop to 33 seconds and then stop the countdown. They will then reset the clock to 10 minutes before launch, reverse the countdown and finish at 9.3 seconds before launch. This simulates what is called clearing a launch or canceling a launch attempt if weather conditions or technical problems would prevent a safe take-off. At the end of the test, the team will drain the rocket propellant, as it would during a real cleanup.
Some steps will be sorted
Artemis I hit the pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 18. After this rehearsal, it will be transported back to the Vehicle Assembly Building until it is ready for launch. NASA’s Artemis I live stream to the launch site begins at 12 p.m. ET on Friday and will be available all weekend, along with updates from the Artemis blog and a NASA Twitter account. However, no audio or comment will be provided and there are no personal media events around the test. In addition, some of the data will be kept secret for security reasons. While landmarks will be posted on the NASA website, details such as the specific time, temperatures, and time required to complete certain tasks are considered important information from other countries. “especially for the first time, you know,” Whitmeyer said. And this for some reason. “We are really very sensitive to cryogenic launchers that have a size and capacity that is very commensurate with the ballistic capabilities that other countries are very interested in,” Whitmeyer said. “And what they’re looking for in particular is the timing of the timing sequence, the temperatures, anything that would help them or other people get used to helping other people do similar things.” The complex interaction of loading propellants and the sequence of events to avoid strain on the vehicle are the types of specific data that would be of particular interest, he said. Whitmeyer stressed that the organization is conservative and shows great care, “especially in the environment in which we are today.”
A summer launch is expected
The space agency is expected to announce the test results on Monday. Depending on the result of the wet dress rehearsal, unmanned shipping could begin in June or July. During the flight, the unpaid Orion spacecraft will launch to the top of the SLS rocket to reach the moon and travel thousands of miles beyond it – farther than any spacecraft intended to carry humans. This mission is expected to last a few weeks and will be completed with Orion being launched into the Pacific Ocean. Artemis I will be the last test field for Orion before the spacecraft carries astronauts to the Moon, 1,000 times farther from Earth than the International Space Station. After the Artemis I unmanned flight, Artemis II will be a full-moon flight of the Moon and Artemis III will return the astronauts to the lunar surface. The timetable for the next launch of the mission depends on the results of the Artemis I mission.
