NASA Eyes March 6 To Launch 4 Astronauts To the Moon On Artemis II Mission

Source: Slashdot

NASA Plans March 6 Launch for Artemis II

NASA could launch four astronauts on a mission to fly around the Moon as soon as March 6. That is the launch date (PDF) the agency is now working toward after a successful test fueling of its 322‑foot‑tall Moon rocket, which stands on a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“This is really getting real,” says Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator of NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. “It’s time to get serious and start getting excited.”
She cautioned that some pending work remains at the launch pad, and officials will conduct a multi‑day flight‑readiness review late next week to ensure every aspect of the mission is truly ready to go. “We need to successfully navigate all of those, but assuming that happens, it puts us in a very good position to target March 6,” she added, noting that the review will be “extensive and detailed.”

When NASA workers first tested fueling the rocket earlier this month, they encountered problems such as a liquid‑hydrogen leak. Swapping out seals and other work appears to have fixed these issues. Officials say the latest countdown dress rehearsal went smoothly, despite glitches like a loss of ground communications in the Launch Control Center that forced workers to temporarily use backup systems.