NASA and Boeing are preparing for a second hot-fire test of the SLS super-heavy launch vehicle this Thursday at 23:00 GMT (midnight French time). The Artemis I mission is still targeting a November lunar orbit launch.
Following the first static firing test failure on the SLS booster—NASA's powerhouse for human lunar missions—a second test is slated for Thursday at 23:00 GMT (potentially an hour earlier, per SLS program manager John Honeycutt at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama).
This time, the four RS-25 main engines will fire for at least four minutes, gathering critical data to certify the rocket's first stage. The initial February 16 test halted after about 50 seconds due to a major component failure on the fourth engine.
Engineers have worked diligently to shield the vehicle amid a severe winter storm across the southern U.S., battling freezing temperatures in recent days.
Post-test, NASA teams have thirty days to refurbish the booster and engines to 'like-new' condition before shipping to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for final assembly (second stage + Orion capsule) and additional checkout tests.
Artemis I—featuring an uncrewed Orion capsule looping the Moon and splashing down on Earth—is provisionally set for November. However, NASA's Tom Whitmeyer, deputy associate administrator for exploration systems, cites technical hurdles and weather conditions as key variables. Regular updates on the launch timeline are promised.
