NASA Will Take Its Fourth Crack
At fueling up its Artemis 1 moon rocket in June that, if all goes according to plan, could set the stage for its first launch in August.
The Artemis 1 Stack
— A huge Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with an Orion crew capsule on top —
— Rolled Out To Pad 39B At NASA's
Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida in mid-March for its "wet dress rehearsal," a crucial series of tests that includes fueling up the SLS.
The Wet Dress Began On
April 1 and was supposed to wrap up two days later. But the Artemis 1 team encountered several problems.
Including A Stuck Valve On The
Mobile launch tower and a hydrogen leak in one of the "umbilical" lines, which delayed and ultimately halted the wet dress after three fueling attempts.
If All Goes Well With Artemis 1
Artemis 2 will send astronauts around the moon in 2024 and Artemis 3 will land a crew near the lunar south pole.