NASA to Roll Artemis I Rocket Back into Vehicle Assembly Building
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA will hold a media teleconference at 3 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 18, to discuss the status of the next wet dress rehearsal test of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the uncrewed Artemis I lunar mission.
Due to upgrades required at an off-site supplier of gaseous nitrogen used for the test, NASA will take advantage of the opportunity to roll SLS and Orion back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to replace a faulty upper stage check valve and a small leak on the tail service mast umbilical. During that time, the agency also will review schedules and options to demonstrate propellant loading operations ahead of launch.
The teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website.
Teleconference participants include:
- Tom Whitmeyer, deputy associate administrator for common exploration systems development, NASA Headquarters in Washington
- Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, NASA Exploration Ground Systems program, Kennedy
- Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, NASA Headquarters
Through Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone to send astronauts to Mars.
For updates, follow along on NASA’s Artemis blog at:
7 responses to “NASA to Roll Artemis I Rocket Back into Vehicle Assembly Building”
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hydrogen leaks. yeah baby
At least it burns clear – so no-one can see it!
see no problem 🙂
I read somewhere that it is only possible to cycle the hydrogen tanks a limited number of times before problems develop. Does anyone know what the limit is?
I found it. Because the core tank is aluminum there is a limit on how many times they are able to fuel it before it becomes a flight risk. Looks like they used three more cycles so they are still within specs.
https://twitter.com/nasa_sl…
Damp squib rehearsal.
I’m rollin’ here!