The Artemis team had time to review the data collected from the successful fourth attempt of the final test held on Monday and decided that no more wet training was needed. The test simulates each stage of the launch without the rocket leaving the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“During wet training activities, we have expanded our understanding of how rockets and ground systems work together, and our teams are adept at multi-site launch procedures,” said Tom Whitmaier, NASA Associate Deputy Administrator for Joint Exploration and Systems Development. , in a statement.
“We have completed the training phase and everything we have learned will help us launch during the targeted launch window.”
Monday’s test involved loading all four rocket tanks with super-cooled propellant, completing the countdown and emptying the rocket tanks. Hydrogen leakage and other issues that emerged during testing kept the team from getting too far with two countdowns As planned.
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However, the team concluded that the test attempts had met almost all pre-launch goals.
“We only had 13 of the 128 orbits we ordered and planned in the last issue, but were not successfully completed,” Phil Weber, senior director of technical integration for NASA’s Earth Exploration Systems Program, said at a news conference. Friday.
“And we looked at those in detail, and it turns out that most of them have already been validated in previous tests.”
Later on Friday, engineers will test the hydraulic booster unit while the rocket is still on the launch pad, a part not included in Monday’s test.
According to a NASA statement, “the units contain hydrazine-powered turbines attached to pumps that apply pressure to spin the booster nozzles used to guide the rocket during takeoff.”
Friday night test It’s not required, said John Blevins, chief engineer for NASA’s Space Launch System program, but engineers want to run the system quickly to reduce the risk of future failures.
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Next week, the Artemis team will return the 98m space launch system and the Orion spacecraft to the vehicle assembly building. The stack will remain in the building for six to eight weeks for repairs and launch preparations.
The engineers developed a plan to achieve the ultimate goals, such as replacing the seal to deal with a liquid hydrogen leak at the time. Cliff Lanham, Senior Director of Vehicle Operations for NASA’s Earth Exploration Systems Program, said the team will also test and install pyrotechnics for flight containment systems.
I will launch the unmanned Artemis I on a mission beyond the moon and back to Earth. This mission will launch NASA’s Artemis program, which is expected to return humans to the moon by 2025 and land the first woman and first people of color on the moon.
“The team continues to impress me with their creative thinking and ingenuity,” said Charlie Blackwell Thompson, Artemis Launch Director at Kennedy. “Our Artemis launch team worked quickly to adapt to the dynamics of fuel loading operations. With each milestone and each test, we are one step closer to launch.”
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