NASA: ‘We Are Go for Launch’ of SLS Megarocket

A few lingering issues still exist prior to the launch of Artemis 1. Earlier this year, the 322-foot-tall (98-meter) rocket underwent four wet dress rehearsals that didn’t exactly go as planned, yet the agency issued the green light for launch despite the imperfect practice sessions and an unresolved hydrogen leak. Ahead of its launch, SLS will still need to thermally condition its engines by performing a hydrogen kickstart, a step that couldn’t be tested during the wet dress rehearsals. During the press conference, NASA officials said they’ll test the hydrogen kickstart once the core stage’s hydrogen tank is filled a few hours before launch, according to Space News. Should NASA fail to complete that test on the day of launch, the agency will announce a scrub and try again at a later date.

Artemis 1 is the first integrated test flight of SLS and Orion, setting the stage for the launch of the subsequent Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 missions. Artemis 2, which NASA hopes to launch in 2024, will have a crew on board but won’t land on the surface on the Moon. That’s reserved for the main event, Artemis 3, in which NASA seeks to land a man and the first woman on the Moon by late 2025.

The initiation of the Artemis era is set to draw a huge crowd, with more than 100,000 visitors expected to gather for the inaugural launch of the SLS rocket at Kennedy Space Center and areas from which the launch will be seen.

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