NASA is preparing to move forward with a key milestone as it readies the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission.
A “wet dress rehearsal” allows launch teams to practice fueling and countdown procedures under conditions that closely mirror launch day, much like a full dress rehearsal before a Broadway opening.
The process begins with the multi-hour task of fully fueling the rocket with its flight propellants. Teams load more than 700,000 gallons of super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the SLS tanks while monitoring vehicle systems and validating ground procedures.
Artemis I wet dress rehearsal
Once fueling is complete, teams conduct a simulated countdown that runs to just short of liftoff. The rehearsal includes all planned holds, allowing controllers to practice stopping and restarting the countdown as they would on launch day.
NASA is eager to verify that issues encountered during similar tests in 2022 ahead of the Artemis I launch are fully resolved.
The most visible members of the Artemis II team, however, will not take part in the wet dress rehearsal.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, are currently in a 14-day quarantine. The precaution helps ensure they do not contract an illness that could delay the mission.
Kennedy Space Center Crew Quarters where astronauts spend 14-days ahead of launch in quarantine.
During quarantine, the crew is staying in the spartan but functional Astronaut Crew Quarters inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center. Think of the cleanest one-star hotel you have ever stayed in.
The facility, which dates back to the Apollo era, includes a kitchen, lounge, and bedrooms for the astronauts, as well as medical exam rooms and the suit room where crews don their pressure suits before heading to the launch pad.
Results from the wet dress rehearsal will help mission managers assess overall system readiness and make final decisions about a specific launch date, which could be as early as February 6 at 9:41 p.m. EST.