Trevor Mahelman
The US Space Agency has spent a great deal of time designing, developing, building, and testing the Space Launch System rocket. When NASA set up its rocket program in 2010, US lawmakers said the upgraded SLS should be ready for launch by 2016.
Of course, these launch targets and many others have come and gone. But now, after more than a decade and more than $20 billion in funding, NASA and its group of contractors are close to declaring the 111-meter rocket ready for its first launch.
On June 20, NASA made it Missile count up to T-29 seconds During a pre-launch refueling test. Although it didn’t reach T-9 seconds, as originally intended, the agency’s engineers gathered enough data to provide the information needed to continue the launch.
During two press conferences last week, NASA officials declined to specify a launch target for the mission. However, in an interview Tuesday with Ars, NASA’s senior exploration officer, Jim Frey, said the agency was working toward a launch window from August 23 to September 6.
“That’s what we’re aiming for,” said Frey. “It would be stupid if we didn’t target that now. We made tremendous progress last week.”
Next up is to return the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center for final launch preparations, including arming the flight termination system. A team of technicians and engineers will also replace the seal on the “quick breaker” where hydrogen leaks are observed while loading fuel.
Free said that the downturn could begin on Thursday, and workers had already laid out their plans for handling cars during the relatively quick turnaround. “The group knows exactly what they have to do when we get back,” he said. “I don’t think we’re expanding to get there. We might push ourselves a little bit, but we’re not going to do anything stupid.” In this timeline, SLS could return to the launch pad in just two months.
The Artemis I mission will not take humans on board, but will serve as a test flight for the giant rocket, the largest NASA has built since the Saturn V rocket the agency used to fly in the Apollo program. The second mission, Artemis II, will transport a crew of four astronauts around the moon. Chances are it won’t happen before 2025. The first human landing on the moon, Artemis III, will likely happen a year or two after Artemis 2.
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