Artemis 2 wet dress rehearsal livestream: Watch the rocket test live

NASA postponed the crucial refueling test for Artemis II due to near-freezing cold in Florida, making it February space a much less likely launch.

The so-called “wet dress rehearsal” will load the Space Launch System with 700,000 gallons of ultra-cold propellants on the rocket’s launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The test, now scheduled for Monday, February 2, takes the countdown to 29 seconds before takeoff, then stops.

How the test goes will determine when NASA actually fires up these engines.

“We need to get rid of the wet suit, we need to see what lessons we learn from this, and that will ultimately chart our path to launch,” said the Artemis launch director. Charlie Blackwell‑Thompson said. “With a wet dress with no major issues, if everything goes according to plan, then there will definitely be some opportunities that could be achievable in February.”

Artemis II will be the agency’s first flight to the moon with a crew for over 50 years. Three American astronauts, Commander Reid Wisemanpilot Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will board the Orion spacecraft, which they have named Integrity. The 10-day trip, which could launch as early as February 8, is a necessary flight test before NASA attempts to land. astronauts on the lunar surface.

Here’s how to watch NASA fill all 322 feet mega moon rocket in this crucial test.

Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, launch director of Artemis II, watches the mega-lunar rocket roll near the firing room windows.
Credit: NASA / Aubrey Gemignani

When is the wet dress rehearsal?

NASA announced that the wet dress rehearsal is now scheduled for Monday, February 2 at 9 p.m. ETtwo days later than officials announced earlier in the week, although the date and time could continue to change as the agency monitors weather and temperature conditions.

During the test, teams will fill the rocket with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen and repeat each major refueling step on launch day. Controllers will perform all countdown procedures, including the “final countdown,” stopping at T‑29 seconds.

Will NASA release the test?

Yes, although the agency has not released the link to the specific stream, NASA plans to broadcast the wet dress rehearsal live on its website. YouTube channel.

Links to individual streams will be available on this page, “closer to the activities,” according to NASA. It’s unclear how much warning the agency will provide. It is also likely that NASA will broadcast the event on NASA+, its own free on-demand streaming service, although a placeholder link for it was not available as of midday Friday on the service.scheduled events” page. Check the NASA page Facebook page and X channel for coverage as well.

Since deploying SLS on the platform on January 17, NASA has maintained a 24/7 view of the rocket. But it won’t be this stream that captures the fueling test with commentary, officials say.

From left to right, the crew of Artemis II: Christina Hammock Koch, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman.
Credit: NASA/James Blair

What is the probability of success?

It’s difficult to predict the outcome of NASA’s wet dress rehearsal, but how smoothly it goes will determine the launch schedule.

During Artemis INASA needed four refueling rehearsals because teams struggled to keep the liquid oxygen cold enough, discovered hydrogen leaks where ground pipes connect to the rocket, and encountered a problem with a valve that allows hydrogen to flow back into the tank. Since SLS deployed in March 2022, it took eight months before the rocket left Earth.

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But mission leaders say this time it will be different. For Artemis II, they changed the way they pump fuel, improved the connections between the rocket and ground equipment, and redesigned and tested that troublesome valve with very cold real fuel.

“Why do we think we will succeed in Artemis II?” » Blackwell-Thompson said. “These are the lessons we learned.”

When will Artemis 2 launch?

A launch window is the length of time a rocket can take off and still reach its intended destination in space. NASA has released launch windows for February, March and April. Mashable provided a detailed explanation on launch opportunities for the next crewed mission.

Due to the latest delays, there are only February 8, 10 and 11 left for this month before NASA begins looking at March. Although they only announced launch dates through April, mission leaders said they actually have a handful of days available “almost every month,” Blackwell-Thompson said.