The refueling test failed 3 times this month.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, FLORIDA — The American Space Agency (NASA) announced plans to tow its Space Launch System rocket from the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center to the Vehicle Assembly Building in the coming days. This decision was taken after NASA 3 failed attempts to complete critical refueling tests of SLS rockets.
Since April 1, 2022, NASA has been trying to complete the test wet dress rehearsal, in which the rocket is refueled and brought to the fore within 10 seconds of launch. Test wet dress reharsal This is part of the pre-launch tests of the Artemis I mission which will bring astronauts back to the Moon.
Reported from Ars Technica, Sunday (17/4/2022), every refueling attempt failed due to one or more technical problems with the rocket, its mobile launch tower, or the ground systems supplying propellant and gas. During the most recent effort, on Thursday (4/14/2022), NASA managed to load 49 percent of the core stage liquid oxygen fuel tanks and five percent liquid hydrogen tanks.
While this shows progress, it doesn’t include the most dynamic part of the test, where the rocket is fully charged and pressurized.
NASA hopes to complete these tests to overcome the constraints in the complex launch system so that when the rocket is launched for actual launch, all will run smoothly.
NASA said its contractors, as well as its agency, will use the next few weeks to address issues that arose during refueling tests when the SLS rocket returned to the Assembly Building.
NASA’s announcement does not provide any information about the impact of the schedule. It is likely to take about a week to prepare and launch the SLS rocket back into the Vehicle Assembly Building. Work on the rocket at the site will probably take place during the month of May.
NASA then had to make some tough decisions. NASA may choose to return the rocket and launch tower to the runway a second time and try again to complete the test wet dress rehearsal. Then, following normal procedures, NASA will return the rocket back to its assembly building to strengthen its “flight safety system,” before launching a third time onto the launch pad for liftoff.
Another option NASA can take is to launch, complete tests wet dress rehearsal on the pad, and then if that works, go ahead and launch it in a few days. In such a scenario, NASA might be able to launch an SLS rocket in June or July. However, this will be risky because of the flight safety system.
An official launch date for Artemis I has not yet been scheduled. Everything depends on the success of a series of complex trials. There are no astronauts on the Artemis I mission, but its launch will prepare NASA to send a human crew into space on the more complex follow-up mission Artemis II.
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