Preparatory work at Kennedy Space Center for NASA’s new rocket and intricate plumbing system has been completed after two weeks. This is the last big test until the space agency determines that the Space Launch System is finally ready to fly after 11 grueling years and a couple of billions of dollars in developmental expenditures.
Launch control crews are scheduled to gather at the Launch Control Center on console at 5 p.m. ET (21:00 p.m. UTC) on Friday for the “wet dress rehearsal.” During this time, engineers, as well as technicians, will start to charge up both the Orion spacecraft and the Falcon 9 rocket. However, the main action won’t begin until the next day.
A “launch day” countdown will begin at 6 a.m. ET, and liquid oxygen will be injected into the rocket’s core stage soon after. NASA and the launch vehicle’s subcontractors are working together on this mission. Around an hour later, liquid hydrogen will be loaded into the ship. There is a preliminary timeline with major milestones released by NASA on their website.
Resuming the countdown at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, NASA intends to conduct a series of tests before igniting the four main engines that originally propelled NASA’s space shuttle, which is now being replaced by the Space Launch System (SLS). If all goes according to plan, the test should be completed by 5 p.m. on Sunday.
The findings of the test will be released to the public on Monday, according to NASA sources. This, obviously, implies that the wet dress rehearsal check is finished in two days. With a difficult rocket and complex ground equipment and 700,000 gallons of very cold liquids to handle, there are no assurances. All of these technologies will be put to the test. In 1967, during the Apollo 4 mission, NASA attempted a comparable “countdown demonstration test” of their Saturn V rocket. That test, which lasted 17 days, had several complications.
