A successful test would maintain Artemis 1’s schedule for a launch on September 27.
NASA is gearing up for a crucial fueling test of its Artemis 1 moon rocket on Wednesday (Sept. 21) that could keep the huge vehicle on track for a liftoff less than a week later.
Artemis 1, the first mission in NASA’s Artemis moon program, will use a Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket to send an Orion capsule on a long journey to lunar orbit and back. NASA originally aimed to launch Artemis 1 on Aug. 29, but technical issues scuttled the planned liftoff twice.
Wednesday’s fueling test will determine whether the fix was successful. The liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen supercold propellant will be injected into the SLS on Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida by the Artemis 1 team. NASA officials stated in an update(opens in new tab) on Friday that the operation “will finish when the objectives for the test have been met” and that it will start at 7:15 a.m. EDT (1115 GMT) on Wednesday (Sept. 16).
