Artemis II completes second wet dress rehearsal with successful fueling

NASA completed a second wet dress rehearsal for Artemis II, loading the SLS rocket with more than 2.6 million litres of propellant and keeping hydrogen leaks below the agency's 16% limit.

NASA has completed a second wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis II mission, carrying out fueling, hatch closeout procedures and two simulated launch countdowns. The test took place at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and followed an earlier rehearsal that was halted after hydrogen leak rates rose above allowable limits. During the second rehearsal, teams practised the exact procedures to be used on launch day and engineers monitored hydrogen concentrations closely. NASA has not named a specific launch date but is preserving flexibility within a March launch window. Key details: - The Space Launch System (SLS) was fueled starting at 10:30 a.m. local time (15:30 GMT) with more than 2.6 million litres of propellant. - Hydrogen leak rates remained below NASA's 16% allowable limit during the fueling, and engineers reported confidence in new seals installed at a fuel interface. - Ground teams practised sealing the Orion spacecraft hatches and completed two full simulated countdowns during the rehearsal. - A brief loss of ground communication occurred but teams shifted to backup systems and identified the issue. - The Artemis II crew is named as Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, and the crew began quarantine procedures on February 20 for at least 14 days. - NASA is targeting the March launch window from March 6 to March 11, with a backup window from April 1 to April 6 if needed. Summary: The successful wet dress rehearsal reduced immediate concerns about hydrogen leaks and allowed teams to confirm recent hardware changes under operational conditions. Undetermined at this time is the exact launch date; NASA continues preparations while preserving flexibility within the March window.