NASA , after three run out attempts to complete a sozzled dress dry run of its Space Launch System , has make up one’s mind to come back its gigantic rocket salad to the Vehicle Assembly Building . The move will probably imply further wait to the Artemis 1 uncrewed mission to the Moon .
blank is hard — we get it — but the of late unconcluded SLS wet dress rehearsal was just apparently sad .
Indeed , NASA could n’t even complete a modified launching rehearsal this preceding Thursday , in which ground crew were attempting to load the rocket engine ’s core stage with cryogenic propellants . A small hydrogen leak on the shadower military service mast umbilical wasblamedfor the mental test stoppage , with NASA saying it would re - execute the modify launching mental testing early this week . The blank space means quick changed its architectural plan , however , announcing on Saturday that the 322 - foot - tall ( 98 - measure ) rocket willreturnto the Vehicle Assembly Building ( VAB ) at Kennedy Space Center for repairs .
SLS at Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Photo: NASA
The SLS wet dress launching dry run is being done in advance of the approaching Artemis 1 mission , in which NASA will essay to launch an uncrewed Orion capsule to the Moon and back , sans lunar landing place . stand on Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida , the arugula was to be fully loaded with propellant and a countdown stopped just prior to the kindling of its four RS-25 railway locomotive , but neither of those thing happened . It ’s not a fantastic result , as SLS represents a critical component part of the Artemis programme , which seeks to shore U.S. astronauts on the Moon later this decade .
In its press firing , NASA tell the decision to roll SLS and the Orion capsule back to the VAB was “ due upgrades required at an off - web site supplier of gaseous nitrogen used for the test . ” The nature of these upgrades and the meter required to implement them were n’t disclose , but the space delegacy say it would “ take advantage of the chance ” to restore the skyrocket directly in the hangar .
Specifically , NASA needs to swap out afaulty atomic number 2 check valvethat prevented ground crews from loading supercooled liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into the rocket ’s second stage during the second wet frock effort . The valve , quantify just 3 inches long , can only be get at when the rocket is inside the VAB . NASA will also apply this meter to repair the leaky umbilical , review the results of the trial , go over its agenda , and decide on the remaining tilt of SLS tryout requirements .
Officials with the quad government agency have emphasise thatnothing is basically wrongwith the rocket and that they ’re simply have to deal with venial , or “ nuisance , ” issue . That may very well be the grammatical case , but the sheer volume of issue and the continuously stilted personal manner in which the propellant loading was being performed , does seem knotty .
During a media teleconferencing held today , Tom Whitmeyer , deputy associate decision maker for common exploration arrangement development at NASA , sound out it ’s a “ delicate dance to bestow a rocket alive ” and a “ really complicated affair to do . ” “ We absolutely are going to do a wet apparel dry run , ” he say , including going through to terminal countdown prior to launch SLS .
The SLS slopped dress started on April 1 , but a steady slew of problem prevented the test from run to its completion . These problem included faulty airing fans on the peregrine catapult , a misconfigured manual vent-hole valve , too cold temperature and frost during propellant loading , and the aforementioned trouble with the third - party supplier of gaseous nitrogen . Alightning stormon April 2 and theAxiom Space missionto the International Space Station , which launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 8 , also contributed to delays .
Charlie Blackwell - Thompson , Artemis launching manager , said it will take ground bunch until April 26 to prepare SLS for its crawling , 4 - mile ( 6.4 - kilometer ) journey back to the VAB , which will take some 12 hours .
Blackwell - Thompson delineate three potential scenarios for act onward . The first is a “ a immediate spell alternative , ” in which the team would call a minimum number of issuance and then roll the rocket back to the launch pad in preparation for the next launch rehearsal . The second option would involve the “ complete Seth of work ” ask to fetch the rocket to its final launching configuration , while the third selection would involve a full wet garb rehearsal followed by the Artemis 1 launch , without roll the rocket back to the VAB in between . It would be premature to speculate as to which of these is the lead candidate , she added .
As for the Artemis 1 mission , the next three windowpane for launch are June 1 to 16 , June 29 to July 17 , and July 26 to August 9 . At the press league , Whitmeyer said , unsurprisingly , that the “ early June window is gainsay at this point . ” Hopefully the next endeavour at a wet dress rehearsal will go far well , and that these window will stay valid .
Artemis 1Artemis programNASASpaceflight
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