Feb. 1 (UPI) — After adjusting its timeline for the last remaining tests of the Artemis II space launch system and Orion capsule because of freezing cold temperatures in Florida, NASA is now pressing ahead in preparation for its launch to the moon.
NASA had planned to start the fueling phase of the wet dress rehearsal for the rocket’s launch cadence on Saturday night, but a blast of Arctic air reached all the way down to Kennedy Space Center in Florida making it too cold to load propellants into the ship’s fuel tanks.
As a result, the fueling tests were pushed back to Monday — and launch will now happen no earlier than Feb. 8 — as the agency held off on powering up the SLS rocket’s core stage until Sunday morning.
“NASA continues to press ahead through the countdown for the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal,” NASA said in a statement. “Teams monitored all systems throughout the overnight hours [Saturday] during cold temperatures and high winds.”
The wet dress rehearsal is a test of the full launch team and the series of complex steps involved in a space launch, which includes engineers in Florida, at Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston and at other NASA facilities.
The tanking phase of the wet dress rehearsal involves loading more than 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, as will happen before the actual launch.
The test involves filling, topping off and replenishing the tanks over a series of loading milestones.
Engineers also will start preparing to charge the Orion space capsule’s flight batteries and the core stage battery, in addition finishing preparations of the umbilical arms and a walk down at the launch pad, NASA said.
Tanking operations require an overall outdoor temperature above 41 degrees, and cannot dip below 40 for more than 30 consecutive minutes, during both the rehearsal and actual launch.
The full wet dress rehearsal is a complete countdown simulation — the wet dress countdown started Sunday at minus-39 hours and 30 minutes — and will end with a simulated launch window on Monday around 9:00 p.m. EST, NASA said.
Artemis II’s launch window is currently set for Feb. 8 to Feb. 11, but NASA has previously said that if the rocket is not ready to launch next week that additional launch windows in March and April have been identified.