NASA officials have made a decision: a new attempt to launch the Artemis II mission to the Moon will take place on April 1. To make this happen, the SLS rocket must be transported to the launch pad by March 19.
Ready for launch
The SLS lunar rocket could send four astronauts on a flight around the Moon much sooner than anyone could have imagined. On March 12, NASA engineers completed a pre-launch check of all systems.
The space agency’s leadership has now decided that a new launch attempt should take place on April 1. However, for this to happen, the rocket needs to be rolled out of the assembly building to Launch Pad 39B as early as next Thursday.
This is where the Orion spacecraft is set to begin its journey. But before that happens, engineers have to do a full rehearsal of the launch on-site, including fueling the rocket with propellant and oxidizer.
Are further delays possible?
It was during such an inspection in February that hydrogen leaks were detected in the tanks. SLS had to be brought back specifically to resolve this issue. In the blink of an eye, the launch plans had to be postponed by several weeks.
Actually, the current rush stems from a desire to break this delay somehow. However, if any problems are discovered, the launch will be postponed again. After all, there are still launch windows available in April. And if the problems are serious, the rocket will be taken back to the workshop. No one is going to put the crew at risk.
According to www.nasa.gov
