NASA has re-scrubbed the debut launch of its Space Launch System (or SLS) rocket after engineers failed to repair a persistent hydrogen leak.
The hydrogen leak was first noticed this morning, shortly after the rocket was fired on liquid hydrogen. nasa said: the leak “developed on the supply side of the 8-inch quick coupler while attempting to transfer fuel to the rocket.” The team made three attempts to fix the problem, but after each attempt to fix the problem, a leak was discovered. After the third time, engineers advised that the launch would be a ‘no go’. Shortly thereafter, the mission’s launch director, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, decided to cancel the launch attempt.
The SLS is intended to be one of the workhorses of NASA’s Artemis program. For this mission, called Artemis I, it must launch the unmanned Orion crew pod around the moon. On future missions, NASA will attempt to return astronauts to the lunar surface using SLS, Orion and additional equipment.
The agency also violated the SLS’s previous launch attempt, which was scheduled to take place on Aug. 29, citing problems with the engine venting system intended to bring the engines up to the correct temperature before takeoff. A hydrogen leak was also discovered during that launch attempt.
NASA has one launch window left — from 5:12 p.m. to 6:42 p.m. on Sept. 5 — before a major delay. The flight-termination system, which should prevent the rocket from becoming a dangerous rocket if something goes wrong during launch, needs to be retested relatively often (it should be every 20 days, but NASA extended that to 25 days), and that testing cannot be done on the launch pad.
Given that the rocket rolled out to the launch pad on August 16, NASA’s time will be pretty much up after September 5. If the SLS is then not launched, it must be returned to NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where the shutdown system can be retested. That will take time, pushing this launch back to late October at the earliest.
If that launch succeeds, however, it should pave the way for a mission next year where NASA sends a crew into the Orion capsule for the first time. They will just fly around the moon and not land on it — that milestone is scheduled for 2025, when we will hopefully see the first woman walk on the moon.
Additional reporting by Mary Beth Griggs
