The Artemis I launch team continues to press ahead through the wet dress rehearsal countdown. During the overnight hours after determining four lightning strikes at Launch Pad 39B would not stop the countdown from continuing, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) and solid rocket boosters of the Space Launch System rocket were powered up. Shortly …
Teams Proceeding with Overnight Operations for Artemis I Wet Dress Rehearsal
Engineers confirmed there were four lightning strikes to the lightning towers within the perimeter of Launch Pad 39B. Teams have determined the first three were low intensity strikes to tower two and are continuing to review data from the fourth strike, which was higher in intensity to tower one. At the time of the strikes, …
Teams Continue to Monitor Severe Weather Ahead of Artemis I Wet Dress Rehearsal
The launch team is continuing to monitor severe weather in the Kennedy Space Center area surrounding Launch Complex 39B. Earlier this evening one of the lightning towers was struck and teams are currently assessing any impacts. The lightning protection system consists of three nearly 600 foot tall towers that work together to protect the rocket …
Weather Still Favorable for Artemis I Wet Dress Rehearsal
Meteorologists with the U.S. Space Force Space Launch Delta 45 currently predict favorable weather conditions for tanking on April 3. Forecast for this afternoon slightly improved from yesterday. There is currently less than a 5% chance of lightning within five nautical miles of the launch pad. Weather constraints stipulate there must be less than a …
Countdown Progressing for Artemis I Wet Dress Rehearsal
Around 3 a.m. on Saturday April 2, at approximately L-35 hours and 20 minutes, the Artemis I launch control team powered up the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage, which will be loaded with more than 700,000 gallons of propellants during the tanking phase of the countdown. During the day, teams will charge Orion flight …
Mars-Saturn, Jupiter-Venus Conjunctions Happening This Month!
Skywatchers, you have the opportunity to see not just one, but two planetary conjunctions during the month of April 2022! A conjunction is a celestial event in which two planets, a planet and the Moon, or a planet and a star appear close together in Earth’s night sky. Conjunctions have no profound astronomical significance, but …
Artemis I Update: Countdown is Underway for Wet Dress Rehearsal
At approximately 5 p.m. EDT, or L-45 hours, 40 minutes before the initial targeted test T-0, the launch team arrived at their stations inside the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The countdown is now underway for the wet dress rehearsal test for NASA’s Artemis I mission. Prior to “call to …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 4/01/2022
Payloads: Dose Distribution Inside the ISS – 3D (DOSIS-3D): The DOSIS-3D Passive Detector Packages (PDPs) were photographed before and after relocation to the Service Module ceiling area. DOSIS-3D uses several active and passive detectors to determine the radiation doses inside the ISS. The goal is a three-dimensional radiation map covering all sections of the ISS. …
Astronauts Relax after Busy March, Cosmonauts Get Used to Station Life
Four Expedition 67 astronauts, who have been aboard the International Space Station since November, kicked off the weekend with a light duty day today following a pair of spacewalks and a crew swap in March. The orbiting lab’s newest crewmates, three Flight Engineers from Roscosmos, stayed busy with their science and maintenance tasks. March was …