KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – Engineers for NASA’s Artemis program are finishing up final tasks before its first test flight, but the space agency would not commit to a timeline for the inaugural launch.
Artemis I’s SLS rocket is expected to roll out to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center for the first time on March 17 at 6 p.m. ET.
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There will be a crucial test called a wet dress rehearsal where the launch team will conduct a full launch countdown. If the wet dress rehearsal is successful, NASA will roll the rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, do final checks and set an official target date for launch.
NASA officials said the the wet dress rehearsal is a complicated test, especially with the new mobile launcher will be using, and they want to get through that first before setting the date.
They did say it could take a month to roll the rocket out to the launch pad, conduct the wet dress rehearsal, then roll the rocket back to the VAB and do some final checks on the rocket.
The Artemis program is the long-awaited NASA program to take Americans back to the moon and beyond.
The first flight will be an uncrewed mission to fly around the moon. If the first mission is successful, it will be followed by a crewed test mission that will orbit the moon. If that mission is successful, Artemis III’s goal will be to land on the moon.