NASA counts down for rocket drills to the Moon-Information Technology

A series of pre-launch tests of the SLS rocket will begin April 1 to April 3 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The Artemis rocket has been moved to the Kennedy launch pad ready for testing.

Then, if all goes well, NASA is expected to set an official launch date for Artemis I.

On March 17, the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket were moved to the Kennedy launch pad by the giant “supertank” Crawler-Transporter 2 (CT-2) 40 m long and 35 m wide, weighing about 3 million kg. . This is a vehicle built more than 50 years ago to transport Apollo rockets to the Moon.

Since NASA’s last Moon mission in the late 1960s and early 1970s, CT-2 (and its counterpart, CT-1) have undergone modifications and improvements to prepare the rocket. heavier payload, such as Artemis’ giant SLS rocket.

At the start of the exercise, the communications systems in the Orion spacecraft will be activated and tested, Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said at a press conference.

When the countdown tests begin, the controller counts down from 1 minute 30 seconds, then pauses to demonstrate the system’s ability to hold for up to 3 minutes. They will then continue to count, reaching 33 seconds before launching. At 33 seconds, the counter will pause again, then rewind 10 minutes before launching.

The second terminal’s countdown will reach about 10 seconds before launching and then ending. This allows launch controllers to test out situations where the launch might need to be aborted – or “deleted” – due to technical or weather-related problems.

NASA officials will then check the results of the tests and review the data before setting an official launch date for Artemis I.

Once testing is completed and the rocket’s fuel tanks are emptied, the SLS and Orion will be returned to the assembly house for additional pre-launch flight-safety testing.

Blackwell-Thompson said that the operating procedure when the missile is finally deployed for launch will be very similar to what was performed during the exercise.

This pilot program will be streamed live on the channel YouTube by Kennedy Space Center Newsroom. NASA will also provide updates on the tests on the Artemis blog and on the Exploration Ground Systems Twitter account.