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A series of problems that prevented NASA from conducting a test to load its “mega lunar rocket” this week may not be resolved in time to try again next week, NASA officials said on Friday.
The agency hopes to make a fourth attempt to complete the refueling test, but can only do so if technicians find the source of the leak in one of the fuel pipelines that completed the last test on Thursday.
“We hope that there is something that is quite simple and needs to be corrected or easily resolved, and we can do it as a basis and do it in a relatively short time,” Mike Sarafin, mission manager for the lunar program, told reporters. NASA Artemis. Friday.
If not, however, the rocket may need to be returned to its prefabricated building, which will lead to further delays.
Earlier this month, NASA launched the towering Space Launch System rocket at its launch site at the Kennedy Space Center for the first time with a large pump for a series of tests before its first launch. The rocket, which has been under development for years and is billions of dollars above the budget, is designed to launch NASA astronauts to the moon for the first time since the end of the Apollo era.
The first launch in NASA’s Artemis program will send the Orion crew capsule into orbit around the moon without people on board. This was scheduled for this spring. But with the problems NASA encountered at the site, it is unclear when the launch will take place.
Sarafin said the most recent refueling test is now next Thursday.
Known as the “wet dress rehearsal”, the test aims to fully charge the two stages of the rocket with more than 700,000 gallons of super cold liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen. NASA must then conduct a simulated countdown in preparation for the first rocket launch later this year.
But since the SLS was launched, NASA has faced a series of problems: a leak in the liquid hydrogen supply line, problems with fuel temperature readings, malfunctioning fans used to push the mobile launch tower.
Last week, NASA discovered a problem with a helium pressure valve in the second stage of the rocket, which is designed to prevent liquids or gases from leaking in the wrong direction. Crews on the ground did not have access to the small part, only three inches long, in the second stage of the rocket, and said they would have to replace it after returning the rocket back to the assembly building.
As the valve does not work, NASA has said it will not try to power the second stage, which means that some key parts of the test will not be able to be performed.
On Thursday, NASA had to suspend the refueling procedure for the first stage after the crews discovered a leak. “When you have hydrogen leaks and you have oxygen from the environment, all you need is an ignition source to close the fire triangle,” Sarafin said. “So it was a risk of flammability and we interrupted the test as a result.”
During the abbreviated test, they were able to charge only 5 percent of the liquid hydrogen and 49 percent of the liquid oxygen.
NASA officials knew they would run into problems with a massive and complex rocket like the SLS. It is 322 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty and is more powerful than the Saturn V rocket that flew astronauts to the moon during the Apollo era. The avionics computers have 18 miles of cables and more than 500 sensors.
Propellants are extremely cold and volatile – liquid oxygen is maintained at -297 degrees Fahrenheit, liquid hydrogen at -423 degrees. Since the rocket has never flown, crews need time to learn how it works in a real environment.
Despite the setbacks, NASA has learned a lot and gathered a lot of data about the rocket and how it works, said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, director of NASA’s Artemis launch. Detecting problems is the goal of the tests, she said, and it’s not uncommon for such a massive rocket that has never flown before.
“Although we failed to complete the planned activities, we certainly achieved a lot,” she said. “History has shown that this has been a challenge for almost anyone who has done something of this magnitude.”
After NASA had to pause the test because the liquid oxygen temperature limit exceeded expectations, Wayne Hale, a former NASA flight director and Space Shuttle program manager, wrote on Twitter that “preventing a catastrophic pressure surge ( “Geyser”) in cryogenic systems is very complex. Shuttle has mastered this concern well over the years of practice. Not surprisingly, setting up procedures takes time for a new ground-based missile system.
As for the hydrogen line leak, he said a leak for the first time is almost expected. But it is not satisfactory. “
Recent failures will fuel criticism of the rocket, which has been ridiculed as the “Senate Launch System,” as it provides jobs in key areas of Congress.
NASA’s chief inspector recently targeted the rocket, saying his office had estimated the cost of its first three flights at $ 4.1 billion each, a price he said was “unsustainable.” But NASA and industry groups have opposed the analysis, saying it includes a wide range of costs, including staff at NASA’s major centers that are not directly related to rocket operations.
While the launch date remains uncertain, Sarafin said he was “convinced we’ll get there.” But he added: “If you want an exact date, I can’t give you that right now.”
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