NASA Completes Wet Dress Rehearsal for Agency’s Most Powerful Rocket

NASA Completes Wet Dress Rehearsal for Agency’s Most Powerful Rocket—With One Hiccup

Tuesday, June 21, 2022 at 02:05 PM ET

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NASA has three different configurations planned for the SLS. The first configuration, Block 1, will have a total thrust of 8.8 million pounds—15 percent more than that of the Saturn V rocket. [Courtesy: NASA]

Key Takeaways:

NASA completed a crucial wet dress rehearsal for its powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, a significant step toward making it operational despite previous delays and issues.
During the rehearsal, all propellant tanks were successfully loaded, and although a hydrogen leak was detected, it was masked to allow the test to continue.
The majority of rehearsal objectives were met, and the Orion spacecraft performed optimally, though a confirmed launch date for the SLS's first mission in its August window is still pending.

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After multiple delays and attempts, on Monday NASA completed a wet dress rehearsal for the Space Launch System (SLS), the agency’s most powerful rocket. The rehearsal wasn’t perfect, but it took the SLS one giant step forward toward becoming operational.

Having previously encountered temperature limit issues, faulty core stage valves, and a liquid oxygen leak, the launch team fully loaded all of the SLS’s propellant tanks. Following that major milestone, NASA proceeded with the terminal launch countdown, where launch day operations are simulated.