Space Launch System

With a series of practice countdowns complete, NASA managers said Friday the powerful Space Launch System rocket could be ready for its first test flight in late August or early September to send an unpiloted Orion crew capsule around the moon.

Forgoing another countdown rehearsal, NASA plans to return the first Space Launch System rocket to its assembly hangar at the Kennedy Space Center next week for a hydrogen leak repair and continued preparations for liftoff on the Artemis 1 moon mission.

NASA ran through a countdown rehearsal for the Space Launch System moon rocket Monday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch team loaded more than 750,000 gallons of super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the more than 30-story-tall rocket, a key test before a demonstration flight later this year.

Countdown clocks began ticking Saturday for NASA’s fourth attempt to complete a dress-rehearsal countdown and fueling test of its Space Launch System moon rocket, a requirement before the huge booster can be cleared for launch on its long-awaited maiden flight.

NASA’s Artemis 1 moon rocket rolled out to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on June 6, preparing for another countdown rehearsal later this month to try loading cryogenic propellants into the massive launcher.

NASA’s first Space Launch System moon rocket rolled out to its launch pad early Monday at the Kennedy Space Center for another attempt later this month to fully load it with super-cold propellants, the culmination of a countdown rehearsal officials aim to complete before moving forward with launch later this summer.