NASA ’s payoff to the Moon rest on the sinewy shoulders of its vast Moon rocket , the Space Launch System ( SLS ) . Over the last few calendar month , the agency has been conducting the last crucial serial publication of tests before its launching , however , not without issues . Now , it has pass a crucial milestone , with the Artemis squad successfully fueling the rocket , despite a leak , during its latest wet rehearsal .

The first wet dress rehearsal was conducted in early April but a series of problem led toNASA postponing the rehearsaland the subsequent launch that was earlier schedule for this month .

The vast rocket salad was rolled back to the launch pad ( you could check it live on its launchpadhere ) and on June 20 the wet dress rehearsal began afresh . Wet dry run are simulations of every step of a launching , including fueling the rocket and the countdown going down to 10 seconds before lift - off , without existent ignition .

Wet is the keyword there . The rocket , which weighs a whopping2.6 million kilograms(5.75 million pounds ) when fuelled , was loaded with almost 3.2 million liters ( 700,000 gallon ) of cryogenic propellant , the first time it has been full fuel . The test was then conduct as a scrub , the name for an aborted launch , with the countdown experience down to 29 seconds before elevator - off before it was ended .

While this wet dress rehearsal has prove how far the whole operation has amount , it still run into some hang-up . Pre - launching , controllers spotteda atomic number 1 leakin the arrangement that disconnects the umbilical – one of the several joining between the rocket and the launching pad . Attempts to fix the leak were not successful so the team bypassed it , make up one’s mind to end the rehearsal somewhat early at T-29 rather than at T-9.3 as planned . In reality , this would have in all likelihood scrubbed a veridical launching .

“ That was a big milepost for us , ” launch director Charlie Blackwell - Thompson said of fuel the vehicle during the live coverage on NASA TV . “ Definitely a in force day for us and a very exciting daylight as well . ”

This was the last milestone SLS , also known asArtemis I , need to complete before its first launch , which will see an uncrewed Orion capsule travel on a calendar month - long journeying to the Moon and back .

An annunciation of the launch date should be coming presently , but it will likely be no in the first place than tardy August 2022 .