The launch team, made up of people from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program and prime launch processing contractor Jacobs, is preparing to conduct the final test prior to the launch of the Artemis 1 mission to the Moon. Following the rollout of the first integrated Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida overnight on March 17 into March 18, the Artemis 1 vehicle and the Mobile Launcher are being connected to pad services and powered up for testing.
The launch control team is conducting the tests out of firing rooms in the Launch Control Center of Launch Complex 39, while ground support crews are overseeing hands-on work at the pad. The vehicle was rolled to the pad for a last big test; a full countdown demonstration called the Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR). Currently scheduled for April 1 through April 3, the test will culminate with propellant loading and a near-complete countdown.