Le lever du soleil jette une lueur dorée sur le système de lancement spatial Artemis I (SLS) et le vaisseau spatial Orion sur la rampe de lancement 39B du Centre spatial Kennedy de la NASA en Floride, le 23 mars 2022. Le SLS et Orion sur le lanceur mobile ont été transportés jusqu’à l’aire de lancement sur le transporteur à chenilles 2 pour un test de pré-lancement appelé répétition générale humide. Artemis I sera le premier essai intégré des vaisseaux spatiaux SLS et Orion. Lors de missions ultérieures, la NASA fera atterrir la première femme et la première personne de couleur sur la surface de la Lune, ouvrant ainsi la voie à une présence lunaire à long terme et servant de tremplin vers Mars. Crédit : NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Après l’arrivée de la fusée Space Launch System et du vaisseau spatial Orion pour Artemis I sur la rampe de lancement 39B à ;” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{” attribute=””>NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 18, teams have connected numerous ground support equipment elements to the rocket and spacecraft, including electrical, fuel environmental control system ducts, and cryogenic propellant lines. Teams successfully powered up all elements of the integrated system at the pad for the first time on March 21 in preparation for the wet dress rehearsal test planned for April 1-3.
Engineering testing is underway to ensure systems continue to operate as planned with the rocket and spacecraft now configured at the pad. Additionally, technicians will don self-contained atmospheric protective ensemble suits, or SCAPE suits, to practice operations in the event of an emergency at the pad during fueling and launch. After checkouts at the pad are complete next week, the team will start system walkdowns ahead of the test.
The approximately two-day wet dress rehearsal test will demonstrate the team’s ability to load cryogenic, or super-cold, propellants into the rocket, conduct a launch countdown, and practice safely removing propellants at the launch pad. After wet dress rehearsal, engineers will roll the rocket and spacecraft back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for final checkouts before launch.
