Having now fully examined the data from the June 20 “wet dress rehearsal” of the Artemis I—Space Launch System (rocket and boosters), complete with the Orion crew capsule—NASA has cleared the vehicle for launch, which is now set for a “window in late August,” according to a June 24 NASA release.
“During the wet dress rehearsal activities, we have incrementally added to our knowledge about how the rocket and the ground systems work together, and our teams have become proficient in launch procedures across multiple sites. We have completed the rehearsal phase, and everything we’ve learned will help improve our ability to lift off during the target launch window,” said Tom Whitmeyer, Deputy Associate Administrator for Common Exploration Systems at NASA Headquarters. Not only did the rehearsal test the physical launch and safety shutdown procedures, it also allowed engineers to test the software and control transfer procedures which will take place in an actual launch event. “The team is now ready to take the next step and prepare for launch,” Whitmeyer said. (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-completes-wet-dress-rehearsal-moves-forward-toward-launch)
The Artemis 1 mission will be an unmanned expedition, designed to test all inter-space and orbital maneuvering systems and techniques the rocket will be expected to make during a crewed mission to the Moon. While much of that mission, including the design and shape of the capsule itself, will be recognizable to anyone with experience of the Apollo lunar missions of the 1960s, Artemis will have the benefit of almost 50 intervening years of knowledge gained by NASA, which—although underfunded and encumbered with loads of political resistance—has not been completely idle. As such, Artemis I will perform maneuvers in lunar orbit which the Apollo mission was not capable of doing.
A 2017 NASA video of the flight schematic can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcPtQYalkcs
