NASA has decided to suspend plans for a wet dress rehearsal involving the next-generation lunar rocket after a series of problems over the past few weeks have derailed efforts.
The space agency said it wanted to make some repairs as well as assess the current situation and would therefore move the powerful SLS lunar rocket and the Orion spacecraft from the launch pad back to the vehicle assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA’s new SLS lunar rocket arrived at the launch site for the first time four weeks before a test involving refueling the rocket and a false countdown.
The first rehearsal attempt took place earlier this month, but was canceled due to a fan problem that affected the rocket’s mobile launcher.
A day later, on April 4, the second effort was halted when engineers noticed a jammed valve on ground equipment related to the test procedure.
The third effort last week was a reduced procedure that focuses on refilling only the tanks of the basic stage, instead of trying to fill the upper stage. But even this method proved to be an obstacle after engineers identified a liquid hydrogen leak that led the team to withdraw.
Initially, it was hoped that the test could be resumed in the coming days, but on Sunday NASA announced that it was returning the rocket to the assembly building to make some repairs before trying again. The break in production is also related to work performed by an off-site supplier.
“Due to upgrades required by an off-site supplier of nitrogen gas used for the test, NASA will take the opportunity to return the SLS and Orion back to the vehicle assembly building to replace a defective top-level check valve and a small leak. the tail service mast umbilical, “said the space agency. “During this time, the agency will also review schedules and options to demonstrate refueling operations before launch.
NASA will hold a media teleconference at 3 p.m. ET on Monday, April 18, to discuss the state of the wet dress rehearsal.
Failure to perform a successful wet rehearsal is a failure for NASA, although at the same time such tests are designed to detect problems, allowing engineers to do everything right for the day of launch.
The rehearsal is the last major test before the unmanned Artemis I mission, which will use the SLS rocket to power the Orion spacecraft while flying to the moon. The launch is scheduled for no earlier than May, but recent problems are likely to shift this target date.
After a successful flight of Artemis I, Artemis II will take the same route, but this time with a crew on board. The long-awaited Artemis III mission, currently scheduled for no earlier than 2024, will put the first woman and the first man of color on the moon’s surface in the first manned landing since 1972.
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