After the failed Artemis -1 launch attempt, NASA is aiming for another launch attempt in September.
NASA is replacing leaky seals in its lunar rocket at the launch pad in hopes of launching it on its first test flight later this month.
Regulators said on Thursday they would conduct another inspection after the repair to ensure that all hydrogen fuel leaks were plugged in. If that test goes well — and if the Space Force renews the flight safety waiver — then NASA could make another jab at the launch of the 322-foot rocket in late September. Otherwise, the rocket will returned to the hangar for additional work, delaying takeoff until at least October.
A series of hydrogen fuel leaks and other problems has halted launch efforts since last week.
The Space The Launch System rocket – the most powerful rocket ever built by NASA – contains a crew capsule with three test dummies. The space agency wants to put the capsule into lunar orbit in a test run, before sending astronauts to the next flight, in 2024. That moon-circle mission will pave the way for humans firstly moon landing in 50 years, currently scheduled for 2025.
“We need to finish testing the tank and then we’ll have to look at what’s realistic and on schedule,” said Jim Free, NASA’s head of exploration systems development. The earliest launch attempt was on September 23, said Jim Free, NASA’s head of exploration systems development.
To launch in late September, NASA needs approval from the Cape Canaveral Space Force, which oversees the rocket’s self-destruct system. Battery needed to activate the system if the missile is deflected towards densely populated areas. These batteries have to be retested periodically and that can only be done in the hangar. The military would have to extend the certification for these batteries by two weeks or more to avoid transferring the missiles back to the hangar.
But every time a rocket travels between the hangar and the launch pad adds to “regular wear and tear, and I don’t want to do that” unless necessary, said chief engineer John Blevins. There have been three trips to the launch pad this year for countdown practice and, most recently, thwarted launch efforts on August 29 and Saturday.
Engineers hope that replacing a pair of seals in the hydrogen fuel line at the bottom of the rocket will resolve any lingering leaks.
According to Mike Bolger, a program director, as an extra precaution, the launch team plans “a gentler and kinder approach to hitting” during the final stages of the countdown, slowing the flow of fuel to relieve stress on seals.
“We are optimistic that we can settle this issue flatly,” he told reporters.
Running late every year and billions budgetNASA’s new lunar exploration program is named Artemis after Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology. Twelve astronauts walked on the moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s during NASA’s Apollo program.
