NASA stood down to let some civilians make history this week on the Axiom Space launch to the International Space Station, but mission managers are getting back to work this weekend to test the Artemis I moon rocket at Kennedy Space Center.
The week saw KSC hosting for the first time ever both a NASA spacecraft — the Space Launch System with Orion capsule — and a commercial spacecraft in the form of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 on its two launch pads.
After the AX-1 mission launched from 39-A Friday morning, though, that left the massive lunar rocket on the mobile launcher at pad 39-B still aiming to redo a test to simulate a countdown and load the core and upper stages of the rocket with 730,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
NASA had scrubbed two efforts earlier this week because of different pressurization and valve issues, but managers said they were nuisance issues that they’ve worked through, expecting to begin the roughly 46-hour process Saturday evening, and complete all of its goals by Monday afternoon.
The test marks the final major hurdle before mission managers can target a liftoff for Artemis I, an uncrewed flight that will send the Orion capsule on a four- to six-week mission to orbit the moon and pave the way for future crewed missions including a return of humans and the first woman, to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.
Previous announced possible launch windows have been June 6-16 and June 29-July 12.
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