After setting it off for long, NASA is targeting to close September with a third launch attempt of the space agency’s Artemis I Moon mission.
Leaky seals were replaced that halted a launch attempt on August 29 of its new moon rocket.
The new launch dates are uncertain too. To ensure that the repairs worked by filling up the rocket’s huge tanks with liquid hydrogen and oxygen, Nasa is pending an important fueling test of the Space Launch System (SLS).
The safety waiver is from the US Space Force, which handles range safety at Cape Canaveral, Florida, as per Nasa associate administrator Jim Free.
In this video, we dive into the details of how NASA Will Go Back to the Moon at the end of this month with the mission Artemis 1.
The countdown was scheduled for September 17.
The launch has been dragged for the third time as Nasa first went all out to launch the SLS rocket on August 29, but the launch attempt was scrubbed due to weather concerns, a faulty valve, and problems bringing one of the rocket’s engines to the proper pre-flight temperature.
The September 3 attempt was gone to drain after Nasa could not contain a leak in the interface between the liquid hydrogen fuel line and the rocket’s fuel tank.
According to Jim Free, the issues that led to scrubbing the previous two launches have been addressed, including replacing a seal in the interface that led to the hydrogen leak on September 3.
NASA has its hands full trying to get Artemis 1 ready for its third launch attempt, even with the FTS test waiver. Before Nasa can attempt another launch, the space agency must test the seal in the interface by loading the rocket with liquid hydrogen fuel.
A pair of dates have been plucked to avoid conflict with other Nasa missions and launches. There would be no surprise to see the launch slip a day or two.
While you might think it’s easier to land on the Moon, things don’t go as planned since we’ve done it before.
NASA will likely need four days between the test and the launch if all goes well. So, if it slipped off the 17th for a couple of days, 23rd could be the big day.
But NASA would take another stab at launching the 322-foot rocket in late September only if the test goes well and if the Space Force extends a flight safety waiver.
If things go sideways, the rocket will return to the hangar for additional work, shelving liftoff until at least October.
A series of hydrogen fuel leaks and other crises halted back-to-back launch attempts last week.
After installation and testing, the flight termination system was initially certified for 20 days. NASA then asked for and received an additional five days from Eastern Range, the part of the United States Space Force that oversees rocket launches from Florida to ensure the safety of people on the ground.
Things didn’t work out, so NASA is now asking for a longer extension.
Associate administrator for exploration systems Jim Free says, “If they decide that it’s not the right thing to do, we obviously will support that and stand down and look for our next launch attempt. But we still will proceed with the tanking test.”
NASA needs the OK from the Space Force in Cape Canaveral to launch in September. Cape Canaveral oversees the rocket’s self-destruct system.
The system needs batteries to be activated in case the rocket veers off course toward populated areas. These batteries need periodic retesting, which can only be done in the hangar.
To avoid moving the rocket back to the hangar, the military would have to extend the certification of those batteries by an extra two weeks or more.
But every time the rocket moves between the hangar and launch pad adds “routine wear and tear, and I don’t want to do that” unless necessary, said chief engineer John Blevins.
There already have been three trips to the pad this year for practice countdowns and, most recently, the thwarted launch attempts of August 29 and Saturday.
NASA also needs a waiver for the batteries in the rocket’s flight termination system, which would ruin the vehicle if it went off course.
The rocket or the Space Launch System would have to be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for the flight termination system to be recharged and retested without the waiver.
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