L-Minus 24 DAYS Till the Maiden Flight of the Space Launch System!

NASA

Artemis I: Final Stage of Moon Rocket Preparations Underway (News Release)

As NASA’s first launch attempt for Artemis I approaches, teams are ahead of schedule to complete final checks and closeouts of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA is targeting launch on August 29 during a two-hour launch window that opens at 8:33 a.m. EDT, with backup opportunities on September 2 and 5. A successful launch on August 29 would result in a mission duration of approximately 42 days, with a targeted Orion splashdown on October 10.

Teams are retracting the VAB platforms that provide access to the rocket and spacecraft after engineers completed installing thermal blankets on the interim cryogenic propulsion stage around the launch vehicle stage adapter. Technicians also replaced the engine section flight doors of the rocket’s core stage. Final closeout inspections are complete on those sections and they are ready for flight.

On the 212-foot-tall core stage, teams started flight closeouts inspections. Coming up, engineers will test the flight termination system elements in the intertank of the core stage and the forward skirts of the solid rocket boosters before SLS rolls out to the pad for launch.

Launch and flight controllers, along with support personnel across NASA centers, completed their final launch countdown simulation ahead of the mission. The team has conducted many launch and flight simulations to prepare for Artemis I.

Technicians also finished replacing the inflatable seal that sits between the mobile launcher’s crew access arm and Orion’s launch abort system and crew module to prevent anything from the outside environment getting inside the capsule. Teams have extended the crew access arm and are conducting final powered testing and installing the “passengers” that are part of the MARE investigation before closing the hatch ahead of rolling out to the launch pad, currently scheduled for August 18.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 3 Platform E was retracted last night. ½ of the platforms are now retracted. Platform K will be retracted tonight, with B, C, E next week, starting on Tues.
Join us today at 11:30 ET for an Artemis I mission briefing at https://t.co/6CWuCVIE53 pic.twitter.com/ztArVTz16U

— NASA's Exploration Ground Systems (@NASAGroundSys) August 5, 2022

Moonikin “Campos” secured in a seat inside the Artemis I @NASA_Orion crew module atop the @NASA_SLS rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at @NASAKennedy. Artemis I is scheduled to launch no earlier than Aug. 29th, with backup dates of Sept. 2nd and 5th. 🚀🌕 pic.twitter.com/JT6CC83ioX

— NASA's Exploration Ground Systems (@NASAGroundSys) August 5, 2022