Missions

Following successful chilldown of the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen lines, teams started slowly filling the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s core stage with super-cold liquid hydrogen, chilled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit, then with liquid oxygen chilled to minus 297 degrees. This marks the official start of propellant loading for the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal.  Slow fill is a deliberate process that allows the tanks and associated […]

Teams have started chilling down the liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) lines for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s core stage. This critical step cools the propellant lines ahead of loading super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the core stage tanks, which will eventually hold hundreds of thousands of gallons of liquid hydrogen chilled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit and liquid […]

At approximately 11:25 a.m. EST, the Artemis launch director, in coordination with the mission management team chair, gave the “go” to begin loading cryogenic liquid propellant into the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for wet dress rehearsal. While teams continue to monitor cold weather that would impact launch day, they are not tracking weather constraints to Monday’s tanking operations.  NASA teams have completed final preparations and closeouts of the umbilicals […]

The Artemis II wet dress rehearsal countdown continues as teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida began configuring the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft with gaseous nitrogen, an important step to mitigate fire hazards, protect spacecraft systems, and ensure mission safety.  Technicians are currently replacing the ambient air in the SLS and Orion crew module with gaseous nitrogen, which is an inert […]

NASA continues to press ahead through the countdown for the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal – a fueling test of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. Teams monitored all systems throughout the overnight hours during cold temperatures and high winds at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  Early this morning, at approximately L-39 hours and 30 minutes, teams powered up the rocket’s core stage, which soon will be loaded […]

The countdown for the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal is underway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The countdown clock began at 8:13 p.m. EST, or L-48 hours, 40 minutes before the opening of a simulated launch window at 9 pm. Mon, Feb. 2. The test is expected to go until approximately 1 a.m. […]

NASA is targeting Monday, Feb. 2, as the tanking day for the upcoming Artemis II wet dress rehearsal at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as a result of weather. With this change, the first potential opportunity to launch is no earlier than Sunday, Feb. 8. Over the past several days, engineers have been […]

Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida continue to prepare the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, Orion spacecraft, and ground infrastructure in advance of the Artemis II test flight. Engineers have remained on track or ahead of schedule as they work through planned activities at the launch pad and are getting ready to conduct […]

The next astronauts to fly around the Moon went into quarantine late Friday. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will ensure that they don’t pick up any illness that could delay their mission by limiting their exposure to others in the days before […]

Shortly after NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft arrived to Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 17, engineers began preparations for an upcoming wet dress rehearsal, a fueling test of the rocket set to occur before launch.   Technicians hooked up purge lines meant to keep cavities of […]