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NASA conducts second Artemis II wet dress rehearsal

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER —  NASA took another crack at fueling its giant moon rocket Thursday after leaks halted the initial dress rehearsal and delayed the first lunar trip by astronauts in more than half a century.

For the second time this month, launch teams pumped more than 700,000 gallons (2.6 million liters) of supercold fuel into the rocket atop its launch pad. They counted all the way down to the half-minute mark as planned, then turned back the clocks to run through the final 10 minutes again.

NASA completed the test late at night and said there was minimal hydrogen leakage, well within safety limits.

It was the most critical and challenging part of the two-day practice countdown. Engineers were analyzing the data, with the outcome determining whether a March launch is possible for the Artemis II moon mission with four astronauts. 

What You Need To Know

  • A ground issue delayed the filling of the liquid hydrogen fuel
  • However, that issue has been resolved
  • RELATED coverage:

The nearly 50-hour test started on Tuesday as launch controllers arrived at their consoles at the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Control Center.  

But it is Thursday that many space fans are anxious about as more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic fuel will be pumped into the Space Launch System rocket during the second test of it and its little companion, the Orion capsule, which will take four astronauts on a flyby mission to the moon.

“Following successful chilldown of the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen lines, teams have started slowly filling the SLS rocket’s core stage with super-cold liquid hydrogen, chilled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit, then with liquid oxygen chilled to minus 297 degrees. This marks the official start of propellant loading for the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal,” NASA stated on Thursday morning in a live blog at around 10:30 a.m. ET.

To fill the core stage can take several hours, but what has space fans anxious is whether any leaks will be detected. As of 1 p.m. ET, no new leaks have been discovered.

In addition to fueling the rocket, the wet dress rehearsal also allows technicians and engineers to go over countdown procedures, system checks, and determine whether any leaks occur during the first test.

During the first wet dress rehearsal on Monday, Feb. 2, teams uncovered a liquid hydrogen leak in an interface that is used to route the fuel into the SLS’s core stage.

In fact, that was the same portion where a liquid hydrogen leak was found during the Artemis I mission back in 2022.

NASA technicians replaced two seals in that area of the Artemis II rocket, which pushed the crewed launch from early February to early March.

Between the first and second wet dress rehearsals, NASA conducted a different test last weekend, where another issue was detected.

“Over the weekend, teams replaced a filter in ground support equipment that was suspected of reducing the flow of liquid hydrogen during a Feb. 12 partial fueling test. The test provided enough data to allow engineers to plan toward a second wet dress rehearsal this week. Engineers have reconnected the line with the new filter and are reestablishing proper environmental conditions,” NASA stated.

During Thursday’s second test, NASA announced that there was a ground issue, which delayed the filling of the liquid hydrogen.

But that issue was resolved.

If all goes well with this test, NASA stated it is eyeing March 6 as the earliest opportunity to launch the historical moon mission.

The expedition will see NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut mission specialist Jeremy Hansen go to the moon in a flyby mission.

Artemis II launch attempt dates

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