Space Launch System
134 articles
Artemis 1 wet dress rehearsal timeline
This timeline covers major countdown activities planned during the NASA's wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis 1 mission. The wet dress rehearsal will include loading of more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the Space Launch System moon rocket on launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
VideoLive coverage: NASA evaluating next opportunity for SLS countdown test
NASA started loading liquid oxygen into the Space Launch System's core stage Monday, but scrubbed a countdown dress rehearsal before pumping propellants into the rocket's remaining propellant tanks. A previous fueling attempt was scrubbed Sunday due to a ground system issue at the Kennedy Space Center. The cryogenic tanking operation is part of a full-up countdown dress rehearsal ahead of the launch of unpiloted Artemis 1 moon mission.

NASA begins critical Artemis countdown rehearsal at Kennedy Space Center
NASA commenced a two-day countdown dress rehearsal for the agency's huge Space Launch System moon rocket Friday, with clocks ticking down to a critical milestone Sunday, when the heavy-lifter will be fueled and pressurized on the launch pad for the first time.

NASA gives priority to Artemis ground test over commercial astronaut launch
NASA officials gave the green light Friday for the first all-commercial astronaut launch to the International Space Station on a SpaceX rocket as soon as April 3. But the astronaut launch could be delayed a day, or longer, to give priority to a countdown test for NASA's Space Launch System moon rocket on a neighboring launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center.
VideoHydrazine loading operations conclude at the SLS launch pad
Technicians wearing protective self-contained suits loaded toxic hydrazine fuel into the Space Launch System's hydraulic power units Friday on pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA is gearing up for a countdown dress rehearsal which could start as soon as April 1.
VideoVideo: Interview with Howard Hu, NASA’s Orion program manager
Howard Hu manages NASA's Orion program, overseeing developing and operations for the space agency's new deep space crew capsule. We spoke with Hu before the rollout of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 1 mission's wet dress rehearsal.

Photos: SLS makes its debut at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
The first 322-foot-tall Space Launch System moon rocket arrived on launch pad 39B Friday after an overnight trek from the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

NASA’s most powerful rocket moved to launch pad for first time
NASA's powerful new moon rocket, standing more than 30 stories tall, arrived on the launch pad early Friday for the first time at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ready for a series of checkouts culminating in fueling test and simulated countdown in early April.

NASA says engine controller failure not a roadblock to first SLS test flight
NASA says a faulty memory chip was the cause of a problem that forced technicians to swap out an engine control computer on the first Space Launch System rocket late last year, but the issue is not a constraint for an upcoming SLS fueling test or launch later this spring.

NASA targets March rollout for SLS moon rocket, launch later this spring
NASA says the first rollout of the Space Launch System moon rocket is planned for March ahead of a key fueling test on a seaside launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, a delay of several weeks to allow more time for work inside the Vehicle Assembly Building.