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NASA is now targeting February 2022 for the launch of its powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
Stacked with the agency’s Orion crew capsule, the SLS is 332 feet tall and currently sits at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
SLS will launch the next generation of deep space operations, including Artemis missions, on and around the moon.
It was initially slated to take off in November but has run behind schedule.
NASA said in a Friday release that the integrated system is entering the final phase of preparations for an upcoming uncrewed flight test around the moon – including a series of integrated tests.
 This close-up view shows the SLS rocket for Artemis I inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 20, 2021. Inside the VAB, the rocket recently completed the umbilical retract and release test and the integrated modal test.
 (Image Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux)
Its mission, known as Artemis I, will pave the way for a future flight test with crew and NASA aims to send the first woman and the first person of color on the moon in coming years.
“It’s hard to put into words what this milestone means, not only to us here at Exploration Ground Systems, but to all the incredibly talented people who have worked so hard to help us get to this point,” Mike Bolger, Exploration Ground Systems program manager, said in a statement “Our team has demonstrated tremendous dedication preparing for the launch of Artemis I. While there is still work to be done to get to launch, with continued integrated tests and Wet Dress Rehearsal, seeing the fully stacked SLS is certainly a reward for all of us.”
Testing includes interface verification testing, program specific engineering testing, end-to-end communications testing, countdown sequencing testing and wet dress rehearsal testing.
NASA already fired up the core stage and its engines twice this year to ensure that the rocket’s components were working – though the first hot fire test in January ended early due to a hydraulic system issue.
NASA eventually completed the engine test firing of its moon rocket in March.
The 1972 Apollo 17 mission was the last in which humans traveled to the moon.
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