The hardware developed by Jacksonville-based Redwire will help boost the station's power capacity, joining other roll-out panels installed outside the station to augment the current solar panels. The mission will also deliver another pair of solar arrays. Another experiment led by researchers at the University of Florida with examine how plants grow in space, attempting to grow seeds sprouted from orbit during a previous experiment on the ISS. One experiment will observe thunderstorms from space with the aim to better understand how lightning storms affect our atmosphere. The Cargo Dragon capsule is packed with experiments and hardware for the astronauts on board the station. Following a successful conclusion of this test, the rocket will still need to be rolled back to the assembly building to arm the flight termination system before it is finally wheeled back out to the launch site for a liftoff attempt.WMFE Weather delayed a weekend attempt of the launch.
A NASA official said design modifications were likely to be needed.ĭue to the ongoing nature of this work, it no longer seems likely that the large rocket will roll out of the Vehicle Assembly Building this month, which probably would push the start of the next wet dress attempt into late June at the earliest. This week, reported that the space agency and its contractors continue to work on a number of issues encountered during the three previous attempts-particularly a leak in the purge line leading to the rocket's upper stage, known as the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage. So far, during these three tests, NASA has managed to load about half of the rocket's liquid oxygen and just a small fraction of the liquid hydrogen. Finally, engineers decided to roll the vehicle back to a hangar at Kennedy Space Center for modifications and repairs after the third attempt failed. NASA has already attempted to complete this "wet dress" rehearsal three times this spring. During this test, the rocket will be fully fueled and brought to within 10 seconds of engine ignition to work the pre-launch kinks out of the vehicle and its ground systems. However, an August launch remains speculative, with September or later this year being the more likely bet, considering the work NASA has left to complete.ĭuring a call with the media on May 6, NASA's chief of human exploration, Jim Free, said the space agency wanted to roll the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft out to the launch pad in late May and would target "early or mid" June for a wet dress rehearsal test. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson appeared to confirm this during a US House subcommittee hearing on Tuesday when he said, "We're going to launch it in August." If all goes well with final preparations before the Artemis I mission, it seems possible that NASA could launch in late August. Mission planners eliminate potential launch dates that would send Orion into extended eclipses during the flight."
For example, NASA says, "The resulting trajectory for a given day must ensure Orion is not in darkness for more than 90 minutes at a time so that the solar array wings can receive and convert sunlight to electricity and the spacecraft can maintain an optimal temperature range. In its news release, NASA helpfully explains the various constraints behind these dates, including orbital mechanics. Depending on when the uncrewed demonstration mission launches, it could last from 26 to 42 days as Orion flies into a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon. The Artemis I mission will encompass the debut launch for NASA's large Space Launch System rocket and the second orbital flight of its Orion spacecraft. During this time period, due to various constraints, the space agency has preliminarily identified 158 launch opportunities. NASA has published a list of potential launch dates for the Artemis I mission ( see PDF), starting as early as July 26 and running through June of next year.
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