Artemis I Update: Launch Director Gives “Go” for Propellant Loading, Countdown Set to Resume
At approximately 8:05 a.m. EDT, the launch director gave the “go” to start tanking operations. The countdown will resume at 8:47 a.m. EDT at T-6 hours, 40 minutes.
Tanking begins with chilling down the liquid oxygen lines for the core stage. In sequential fashion, liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2) will flow into the into the rocket’s core stage tank and be topped off and replenished as some of cryogenic propellant boils off. The team also will conduct leak checks to ensure propellant loading is proceeding as expected. Only minimal cryogenic operations are being conducted on the interim cryogenic propulsion stage because of an issue with a helium check valve found several days ago which cannot be fixed at the launch pad. Teams will chill down the lines used to load propellant into the upper stage but not flow any actual propellant to the stage.
NASA is streaming live video of the rocket and spacecraft at the launch pad on the Kennedy Newsroom YouTube channel. Venting may be visible during tanking operations. NASA is also sharing live updates on the Exploration Ground Systems Twitter account.
