NASA has promoted delayed the launch of the Artemis 1 mission to the moon due to a malfunction in one of the engines of the giant SLS rocket.
With 40 minutes left on the countdown timer at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Mission Control announced an unplanned halt as technicians investigated a problem that arose while loading the core stage of the SLS rocket. with more than 700,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, supercooled to -423 and -297 degrees Fahrenheit. The problem was with the third RS-25 engine, one of the engines next to the solid side rocket boosters. right. The flow of liquid hydrogen into the engine compartment is not working as it should and the propellant is not at the right temperature.
Engineers put the problem on their checklist most recently.”wet dress rehearsal“In June, in which they practiced refueling and running a countdown sequence within 29 seconds of launch. But they were unable to test it at the time because of a liquid hydrogen leak.
This morning, the team also discovered a problem with the vent valve, an upcoming rainstorm and the possibility of a lightning strike. After troubleshooting for over an hour, startup director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson called today’s effort a hit.
At a news conference held shortly after 1 p.m. ET, NASA officials did not commit to a specific date for the follow-up effort. “Friday is definitely still happening,” said Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin, referring to September 2, the next scheduled launch date. When pressed by reporters for specifics about a possible Friday launch, he called it a “non-self-made opportunity,” bringing laughter to everyone in the room. The next possible launch date, if Friday is not an option, is September 5.
None of the officials — including NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Jim Free, the Agency’s associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate — were willing to say whether a delay was needed. longer delay and more serious repair or not. “We won’t have all the data and meaning today, but we feel that we owe it to you to share what we know,” Free said.
Speaking on the space agency’s live stream early this morning shortly after the launch was completed, Nelson emphasized the need to address all issues. “We don’t launch until it’s right,” Nelson said. “It just illustrates that this is a very complex system, and all of that has to work. You don’t want to light a candle until it’s ready to go.” He cited the example of the 24th space shuttle launch in 1986, which was tested four times before making “a perfect mission”.
Artemis’ first flight will not operate. After launch, the Orion capsule, carrying three dummies, will begin a 42-day mission involving several orbits around the moon, as well as 40,000 miles beyond it, before returning back to Earth and splashed into the Pacific Ocean near San Diego. Its resumption will serve as a testbed of a new heat-shielding material called Avcoat, and the mission will also collect performance metrics throughout, as well as radiation data from sensors. mannequin wearable.
