When NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program and prime processing contractor Jacobs have configured the Artemis 1 Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle for launch day, they expect to have one-week periods to get the mission to the Moon off the ground. Between propellant consumption of the two liquid SLS stages and a 20-day long period where the range safety system is validated for use, up to three attempts could be conducted to tank the vehicle and launch within that week’s time before teams would have to stand down.
EGS, Jacobs, and the Orion and SLS teams are continuing testing and checkout of the vehicle, but the latest projections for the first rollout to Launch Pad 39B have moved from late-December 2021 to mid-January 2022. Meanwhile, engineers are also troubleshooting a problem with a controller for one of the four RS-25 engines in the SLS Core Stage. The nature of the problem and the path to a resolution are still unknown and will need to be factored in, but current forecasts for when the vehicle will be ready to launch have moved from the end of January to mid-February.