‘She’s calling us, and we’re ready’: NASA targets March 6 launch date as Artemis II crew, including London, Ont. astronaut, to enter quarantine

Following a successful wet dress rehearsal and fueling of the rocket, NASA is planning for a tentative March 6 launch with London astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

With just two weeks until a tentative March 6 launch date of the Artemis II moon mission, NASA will examine the results of its latest wet dress rehearsal as the crew prepares to enter quarantine.

According to an update from NASA, during a wet dress rehearsal the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket was successfully fueled and a launch countdown was held on Thursday.

In a press conference on Friday, NASA says the organization is targeting March 6 as the earliest launch opportunity.

“She’s calling us, and we’re ready,” said said Lori Glaze, NASA’s exploration systems development chief.

During the 48-hour long wet dress rehearsal, more than 2.6 million litres of liquid propellant was loaded into the rocket, and engineers sent a closeout crew to the launch pad to demonstrate closing Orion’s – the capsule that will transport the crew to the moon – hatches.

NASA also completed two runs of the terminal count, which is the final phase of the launch countdown. The clocks went down to the desired 29 second mark.

Part of the test was observed by the four-person crew from the Launch Control Center at NASA Kennedy.

During the test, teams monitored liquid hydrogen fueling operations, which arose as a major issue during the first wet dress rehearsal held earlier this month.

NASA says hydrogen gas concentrations remained under allowable limits, “giving engineers confidence in new seals installed in an interface used to route fuel to the rocket.”

One issue arose during the test however, with teams experiencing a loss of ground communications in the Launch Control Center. NASA says a backup communication method was used to maintain safe propellant loading activities before normal communications channels were restore, with engineers later isolating the equipment that caused the issue.

Engineers will now review data from the test.

In the meantime, the Artemis II crew, including Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen of London, will enter quarantine in Houston late on Friday.

NASA says the 14-day quarantine period is necessary to limit the crew’s exposure to illness and therefore preserve the March launch windows.

Over the next several days the closeout crew will again practice closeout operations, and technicians will set up temporary access platforms on the mobile launcher, allowing access to segments of the SLS solid rocket boosters and core stage intertank.

NASA says these platforms allow for “complete end-to-end testing of the safety system while at the launch pad rather than rolling back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA Kennedy for retesting.”

Artemis II will be the first crewed mission to the moon since Apollo 17 in December 1972.

With files from The Associated Press