{"id":9615,"date":"2026-02-18T00:12:45","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-to-attempt-second-full-fueling-test-of-its-space-launch-system-rocket\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T00:12:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:12:45","slug":"nasa-to-attempt-second-full-fueling-test-of-its-space-launch-system-rocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-to-attempt-second-full-fueling-test-of-its-space-launch-system-rocket\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA to attempt second full fueling test of its Space Launch System rocket"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NASA\u2019s Space Launch System rocket is seen at Launch Complex 39B in the midst of pre-launch testing for the Artemis 2 mission. Image: Michael Cain\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA will try again to fully load its Space Launch System rocket with more than 700,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen this week at the conclusion of a full launch countdown rehearsal.<\/p>\n

The operation, called a wet dress rehearsal or a WDR, will begin with a call to stations inside Firing Room 1 at the Launch Control Center at 6:40 p.m. EST (2340 UTC) on Tuesday, Feb. 17. It will culminate in the actual fueling of the rocket on Thursday, Feb. 19, aiming towards a simulated T-0 at 8:30 p.m. EST (0130 UTC).<\/p>\n

This second, full-length fueling demonstration comes the week after NASA conducted what it called a confidence test on Thursday, Feb. 12. During that operation, teams loaded an unspecified amount of liquid hydrogen (LH2) onto the rocket\u2019s core stage \u201cto assess newly replaced seals in an area used to fill the rocket with propellant.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, there was a new ground equipment issue that cropped up, which \u201creduced the flow of liquid hydrogen into the rocket,\u201d according to a blog post shared Friday night. NASA said it managed to get enough data from \u201ckey objectives of the test\u201d and was able to get good data from the core stage interface \u2014 called the Tail Service Mast Umbilical (TSMU) \u2014 during the same periods where leaks cropped up during the first WDR on Feb. 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe confidence test related to the seals we repaired and replaced after WDR-1 provided a great deal of data, and we observed materially lower leak rates compared to prior observations during WDR-1,\u201d said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman in a social media post on Saturday. \u201cI would not say something broke that caused the premature end to the test, as much as we observed enough and reached a point where waiting out additional troubleshooting was unnecessary.\u2019<\/p>\n

During the first WDR that concluded on Feb. 3, NASA encountered hydrogen leaks as they moved from a slow fill rate of LH2 to fast fill on the core stage, which required the loading to pause at various times. Hydrogen is highly combustible and so NASA has restrictions around how concentrated it can be once it\u2019s airborne.<\/p>\n

Teams exceeded the 16 percent LH2 limit during the process of pressurizing the tanks amid the terminal count on WDR-1 and the clock stopped at T-5 minutes and 15 seconds.<\/p>\n

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Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, NASA\u2019s Artemis Launch Director, discusses the preliminary results of the first wet dress rehearsal on Feb. 3, 2026. Image: John Pisani\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe wanted to get inside of terminal count, we wanted to hold and we wanted to verify our three-minute hold capability, which is that you\u2019ve got all of your cryo prop systems in a launch-ready state and you can hold them there for up to three minutes and we wanted to demonstrate the capability,\u201d said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the Artemis launch director, during a post-WDR-1 press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to demonstrate a recycle, which is when you go down and you have a planned cutoff in the countdown, come back, and re-target a new T-0 and be able demonstrate that within the launch window,\u201d she added. \u201cDidn\u2019t get a chance to do that. And then we would come down, do the handoff to ALS (automated launch sequencer), and then cutoff shortly thereafter. So I would say those are probably the three things that we had intended to do [on Feb. 3] that we did not get an opportunity to do.\u201d<\/p>\n