Core Stage Propellant Loading Continues, Teams Go for Upper Stage Tanking

As teams continue to fuel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s core stage with liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2), teams have been given a go to begin propellant loading operations for the rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). The ICPS is the upper stage of the rocket responsible for giving the Orion spacecraft the big push it needs to head toward the Moon.

The core stage LOX tank is more than 80% filled, and the core stage LH2 tank is more than 61% filled. Although the LH2 tank is larger than the LOX tank, LOX is denser than LH2 and takes longer to load.

Teams continue to work toward a two-hour launch window that opens at 8:33 a.m. EDT, from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Coverage of tanking operations continues on NASA TV and the agency’s website and the NASA app. A full launch broadcast will begin at 6:30 a.m. EDT.