NASA engineers hope to have their Massive Moon Launch System ready to take off in a few months, but so far they’ve encountered a number of bumps in the road. On March 17, NASA Roll the most powerful rocket in the world launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to get ready for the Artemis program’s first moon mission later this year. Since then, technicians have completed a series of tests of the massive rocket’s systems, but after three attempts, they have failed to pass the final test, a practice countdown called “wet suit drill test”.
The main issues were faulty helium check valves and liquid hydrogen leaks, which resulted in some test countdowns being pushed back. Ultimately, NASA officials decided to disconnect the rocket last weekend and, starting next Tuesday, carefully roll the SLS and Orion crew capsule back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, a facility facility with the necessary equipment for them to perform rocket surgery. They’re hoping for a quick turnaround, returning to the console shortly after to complete the countdown test, but the first Artemis mission around the moon – originally planned for the beginning of the month 6 – may be delayed.
“The supermoon rocket is still doing very well. The check valve is really the only real problem we’ve seen so far. We are very proud of the rocket,” said Tom Whitmeyer, deputy administrator at NASA headquarters in Washington, during a press conference this afternoon. “But we have a little more work ahead of us.”
The precautions are not surprising; NASA doesn’t want to take a chance with its most expensive rocket or a failed debut Artemis launch. “That’s what we consider an acceptable level of risk,” said Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission director, in an earlier press conference on April 15.
Testing began on April 1, after the rocket was brought from the assembly building to Launch Complex 39B via a giant crawler. Jeff Spaulding, NASA’s senior test director, and his team began their process by connecting the rocket’s pressurization and electrical power systems and filling in the pair of white boosters on the side. by propellant. They then began filling the large orange fuel tank with more than 700,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which were supercooled to temperatures of -423 and -297 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. (That’s “wet” in ” wetsuit maneuvers.”) Their goal was to simulate the entire countdown in under T-10 seconds — the closest thing to a real launch without triggering the phase’s RS-25 engine. main paragraph.
Throughout the test, Spaulding and his colleagues monitored the devices, pressure, temperature and valves to check that all systems were operating within acceptable parameters. (“If it turns out they’re a bit off-limits, that’s what we want to know right now — if there’s something we need to fix or adjust,” he said in the days before rehearsals. .)
Testing showed the need for some adjustments. This process was delayed for the first time on April 2nd by lightning, hitting the towers around the rocket. Then, the next day, NASA officials encountered problem with starting tower fan and their backups, according to Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, startup director of Artemis. These fans pressurize the mobile launcher, the tall structure next to the rocket, to remove harmful gases. That resulted in a delay while the fan issue was resolved.
