The Artemis I mission management team met Sunday evening to review the status of preparations for launch and gave a “go” to proceed toward a Nov. 16 launch attempt. The team will meet again Monday afternoon to review additional analysis associated with caulk on Orion’s launch abort system that came loose during Hurricane Nicole. The two-hour window for launch opens at 1:04 a.m. EST Wednesday. The countdown clock will begin at 1:54 a.m. Monday.
Within the next day, engineers will conduct detailed analysis of several feet of delaminated caulk where the ogive on Orion’s launch abort system meets the crew module adapter. The analysis will assess risk should it come loose during launch.
Overnight, in parallel with launch preparations, technicians also will remove and replace a component of an electrical connector on the hydrogen tail service mast umbilical ground-side plate. Engineers continue to see some inconsistent data provided through the connector, despite replacing the cable to the connector earlier in the week. Engineers have redundant sources for the information provided through the connector and it is not an impediment to launch.
NASA will provide a prelaunch status update Monday afternoon after the mission management team reconvenes.
Live coverage of tanking operations with commentary on NASA TV will begin on Tues., Nov. 15 at 3:30 p.m. EST. Full launch coverage in English will begin at 10:30 p.m. and NASA en espanol broadcast coverage will begin at 12 a.m. Wednesday. Click here for the latest information on launch briefings and events.
