Watch the final pre-launch test of the Artemis lunar rocket

Three previous attempts at training in wet clothes in April were unsuccessful, and ended before the rocket was fully loaded with fuel due to various leaks. NASA says these errors have since been corrected.

The NASA team rolls a 322-foot (98 m) stack of Artemis I rockets, including the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 6.

Wet rehearsal: what to expect

The rehearsal began at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday with a “Call to Stations” — when all teams associated with the mission arrive at their consoles and report that they are ready to begin testing and a two-day countdown begins.

Preparations over the weekend will see the Artemis team begin loading propellant into the rocket’s core and upper stages.

The mission management team chief gave “go” to start the refueling, but the team is waiting for the launch manager to formally decide when to start.

The tank is currently suspended due to an identified issue with the back-up supply of gaseous nitrogen. The launch team has already replaced the valve that was causing the problem. The suspension can last up to 90 minutes.

A two-hour testing window will begin later Monday, with Artemis targeting the first countdown at 2:40 p.m. ET.

First, team members It will count down to 33 seconds before launch, then stop the cycle. The clock will be reset; Then the countdown will resume again and last until about 10 seconds before the launch occurs.

According to an update on the NASA website, “During testing, the team may maintain the countdown as necessary to check conditions before resuming the countdown, or extend beyond the test window, if necessary and resources permit.”

Previous attempts at wet-weather training have already completed many goals to prepare the rocket for launch, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch manager for NASA’s Earth Exploration Systems Program, said during a press conference Wednesday.

“Hopefully we can finish it this time and finish the cryogenic loadings along with the final count,” she said. “Our team is ready to go, and we look forward to returning to this test.”

Once the Artemis rocket group completes its rehearsal, it will return to the Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building to wait for launch day.

There is a long history behind the grueling testing of new systems before launch, and the Artemis team faces experiences similar to those of the Apollo and shuttle era teams, including multiple test attempts and delays.

“Not a single person on the team abdicates the responsibility we have to manage ourselves and our contractors and deliver, and deliver, the means that meet these flight test objectives for (Artemis I), and meet those of Artemis I,” said Jim Frey, associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, During the press conference held last week.