If all goes according to plan, NASA will make its fourth attempt at fueling the Artemis 1 moon rocket in June, which could set the stage for the first launch in August.
The Artemis 1 stack was rolled out to Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in March.
The dress was supposed to be finished two days later. The Artemis 1 team encountered several problems, including a stuck valve on the mobile launch tower and a hydrogen leak in one of the lines connecting the tower to the SLS, which delayed and halted the wet dress after three.
NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission explained in photos
The team members took the Artemis 1 stack off Pad 39B to investigate the problems and make the necessary fixes. During a call with reporters today, NASA officials said that work has been going well.
A piece of rubber debris prevented the faulty valve from being sealed properly, so the team replaced it. Agency officials said that the debris was not part of the valve. Some of the bolts on the umbilical loosened due to the relaxed compression on the gasket.
The team is optimistic that work on the Artemis 1 stack will be finished soon, paving the way for another wet dress try.
Jim Free, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington, said during today's call that they are looking at the next wet dress in the early to mid-June period.
The Artemis 1 team needs 12 to 14 days to prepare for the wet dress once SLS and Orion are on the launch pad, Free said.
It may take more than one attempt to get the procedures where we need them, but Free is confident that the fourth time will be the charm.
He said that the vetting of a brand-new launch system is not surprising. The space shuttle that rolled out to the pad for its wet dress in December 1980 but didn't launch for the first time until April 12 1981 is one of several examples he gave.
It is a challenge to work these new systems and complicated vehicles.
NASA won't set a target launch date until the wet dress is done and the data is analyzed. August is the most likely time period available at this point.
Artemis 1 will send an uncrewed vehicle around the moon. The first in NASA's Artemis program of lunar exploration is designed to ensure that both SLS and Orion are ready for crewed flights.
If Artemis 1 goes well, Artemis 2 will send astronauts around the moon in 2024 and Artemis 3 will land a crew near the moon's south pole in 2025.
Mike Wall is the author of Out There, a book about the search for alien life. You can follow him on social media. Follow us on social media.
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