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NASA is set to begin testing its huge moon-bound Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Friday, and the procedure will be livestreamed.
SLS was transported to a NASA launch pad two weeks ago after spending several years under construction. The rocket is to form the backbone of the space agency's plans to return astronauts to the moon for the first time in decades within the next few years, and onwards to Mars.
The rocket's first flight will take place during the Artemis 1 mission later in 2022, in which it will launch an unmanned Orion spaceflight capsule beyond the moon on a journey expected to last between four and six weeks.
Until then, SLS must go through a series of tests to ensure all of its systems are working correctly.
One such test is the so-called wet dress rehearsal which is set to start on Friday. On Monday, NASA said the test will be broadcast to its Kennedy Newsroom YouTube channel here starting at noon EDT on April 1.
The wet dress rehearsal is expected to last around two days from April 1 to April 3, in which time the rocket will be pumped full of fuel—hence the "wet" part of the name—and brought within seconds of engine ignition as part of a simulated launch countdown. However, the launch will be deliberately canceled before the engines fire.
At the start of the launch test, teams will activate the facilities needed for a real rocket launch and formally start the countdown sequence. Launch controllers will start powering up the rocket's various systems and ground support equipment.
After that, more than 700,000 gallons of super cold rocket propellant will be loaded into the rocket's fuel tanks. Teams will also be practicing weather briefings and pre-launch checks.
When launch controllers reach the point just before the rocket's engines would normally ignite, they will then go back 10 minutes and practice the countdown again before halting it 10 seconds before launch to demonstrate a cancellation.
Several days later, SLS will be taken off the launch pad and returned to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to make some modifications and further checks. We won't see the rocket on the launch pad again until about one week prior to Artemis 1, the date for which is still undecided.
For Artemis 1, NASA engineers will use SLS in its Block 1 configuration which will see it stand at 322 feet. It will weigh 5.75 million pounds, and during launch and ascent it will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust.
