NASA Prepares for April 1 Launch of Artemis II Moon Mission

"...The launch of the first crewed moon mission since the Apollo era is just a week away!..."

"...NASA is apparently still targeting April 1 for the liftoff of Artemis 2..."

"...It will be the first human spaceflight mission for NASA's Artemis program, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule, and the first crewed trip beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 way back in 1972...."

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"...The Artemis 2 stack is already at the pad..."

"...It got there on March 20, making the 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) trek from KSC's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) atop the the agency's huge crawler-transporter 2 vehicle...."

"...It was the second trip to the pad for Artemis 2's SLS and Orion...."

"...The duo first got there on Jan. 17, when NASA was targeting early February for the liftoff...."

"...But the Artemis 2 team hit a few hurdles that pushed that timeline back...."

"...For example, a leak of liquid hydrogen propellant was detected during the mission's first attempt at a wet dress rehearsal (WDR), a two-day-long practice run of the procedures leading up to launch...."

"...The team fixed the leak and successfully completed a WDR on Feb. 20...."

"...But they soon discovered another issue — an interruption in the flow of helium to the SLS' upper stage...."

"...That problem couldn't be fixed on the pad, so the Artemis 2 stack was rolled back to the VAB for repairs...."

"...NASA has said it doesn't plan to perform another WDR, so there are fewer boxes to check during this second stint at the pad...."

"...Still, a launch on April 1 is far from guaranteed...."

"...Many different issues could pop up, and NASA will doubtless err on the side of caution, given that this is a crewed mission...."

"...(The four people flying are NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.)..."