Artemis to go through critical tests on launch pad before heading to Moon
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Loading... - Gulika Puri
- 21 Mar 2022
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With the Artemis mission finally out on the launch pad, all eyes are now set on the final round of tests that will mark the system fit to launch for the maiden uncrewed mission to the Moon. Nasa is preparing for the tests that include a full wet dress rehearsal of the Space Launch System (SLS) that will return humans to the lunar surface.
Nasa said that engineers and technicians will prepare the Artemis I rocket for its final major test the wet dress rehearsal. The American space agency revealed the mega-rocket to the world last week when it was moved from its Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to the launch pad nearly 6.5 kilometers away.
The SLS stacked with the Orion spacecraft has been placed on the Launch Complex 39B after completing a nearly 11-hour-long journey on top of a crawler, which has in the past transported Apollo-era missions and the Space Shuttles. The crawler-transporter moved slowly during the trek to the pad with a top cruising speed of 0.82 mph.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING FINAL TESTS?
Ahead of the launch, the final tests will mark the safety of the system and designate of the SLS is fit for launch or not. The approximately two-day test will demonstrate the team’s ability to load cryogenic, or super-cold, propellants into the rocket, conduct a launch countdown, and practice safely removing propellants at the launch pad.
"After the wet dress rehearsal, engineers will roll the rocket and spacecraft back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for final checkouts before launch," Nasa said in a statement. They will practice every phase of the countdown, including weather briefings, pre-planned holds in the countdown, conditioning and replenishing the propellants as needed, and validation checks.
During the wet dress rehearsal, once launch controllers reach the point just before the rocket’s RS-25 engines will ignite on launch day, they will recycle back to the T-10 minute point, and then resume the countdown once more after a hold. The team will then deliberately halt the countdown at about 10 seconds before the simulated liftoff to demonstrate stopping a launch and draining the propellants from the rocket. Read More...
