Wet Dress Rehearsal for Artemis II Is Underway

 Hey, Space Placers!      Back from Mardi Gras, New Orleans!


A full Moon is seen shining over NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the early hours of Feb. 1, 2026.
NASA/Sam Lott

NASA started the second Wet Dress Rehearsal for Artemis II yesterday. 

NASA's press release describes the event in greater detail:

Launch controllers will arrive to their consoles in the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:40 p.m. EST on Feb. 17 to begin the nearly 50-hour countdown. The simulated launch time is 8:30 p.m., Feb. 19, with a four-hour window for the test. While the Artemis II crew is not participating in the test, a team of personnel will go to the launch pad to practice Orion closeout operations, including closing the spacecraft’s hatches.

During the rehearsal, the team will execute a detailed countdown sequence. Operators will conduct two runs of the last ten minutes of the countdown, known as terminal count. They will pause at T-1 minute and 30 seconds for up to three minutes, then resume until T-33 seconds before launch and pause again. After that, they will recycle the clock back to T-10 minutes and conduct a second terminal countdown to just inside of T-30 seconds before ending the sequence. This process simulates real-world conditions, including scenarios where a launch might be scrubbed due to technical or weather issues.

-----------------

LIGHT.THAT.CANDLE!

Sky Guy in VA



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NORTHERN LIGHTS MAY BE VISIBLE TONIGHT

Image
 Hey Space Placers AND AURORA CHASERS! OCTOBER 10, 2024 AURORA OVER CENTRAL VIRGINIA TAKEN WITH SMARTPHONE Greg Redfern The Sun has unleashed a solar event that impacted Earth yesterday  https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/cme-passage-continues-today-16-apr-2025  and has intensified even more today. Earth is experiencing a Level G3 Geomagnetic Storm https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/cme-passage-continues-today-16-apr-2025     today that will produce the Northern Lights (Aurora) tonight after it gets dark. It is recommended that Aurora chasers check the latest Aurora forecast at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center Aurora Forecast Webpage  https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-experimental and get outside after dark equipped with their Smartphones and/or cameras. You will need a clear view of the northern horizon that is hopefully free of bright lights. Try looking with your eyes to see if Aur...
Read more

Humanity Is Becoming Part of the Geological Record

Hey Space Placers! According to geologists we are living in the Holocene epoch. But due to humanity's interaction with Earth's biophysical system there is the informal declaration that we are in the "Anthropocene" Era representing the latter half of the 18th Century to present day. Human activity is starting to be seen in the geologic record, from lead, methane and PLASTIC, yes plastic - deposits in the rock layers. Take a moment to read this enlightening article . You'll be glad you did. Sky Guy in VA
Read more

Why “city-killer” asteroid YR4’s impact probability keeps increasing

Image
 Hey, Space Placers! If a massive asteroid, similar in size to 2024 YR4 or the body that created the Tunguska Event, were to stream through our atmosphere and collide with our planet, it could potentially level an entire city, causing trillions of dollars worth of damage and killing hundreds of thousands or more . Credit: PRUSSIA ART / Adobe Stock Here is an EXCELLENT - AND DETAILED - article on asteroid 2024 YR4 by my friend Ethan Siegel. Stay tuned! Sky Guy in VA
Read more