“Because [untuk] vent valve problems, the launch director had canceled tests for the day. The team is preparing to lower LOX (liquid oxygen) and will begin discussing how fast the vehicle can be rotated for the next attempt,” Jeremy Parsons, NASA deputy director for ground systems, wrote in a Twitter update. /2022).
The stuck vent valve is 49 meters from the mobile launcher, which serves as the gantry and launch platform for the SLS. This refueling attempt was the second attempt to fill the 98-meter-high SLS rocket core stage. The Artemis 1 rocket is loaded with 2.6 million liters of super-cooled liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellant.
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Previously, NASA tried to refuel the Artemis 1 rocket on Sunday April 3, 2022, but stopped before propellant loading began due to a problem with the pressure of the moving launcher that sent hazardous gases out of the enclosed area where technicians were working. By Monday, technicians had loaded about 50% of the liquid oxygen needed for the refueling test before it was postponed.
It is unclear whether NASA will retry its third refueling attempt on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 or will have to step back to replenish propellant supplies and give the runway crew and launch controllers time to rest. Meanwhile, a private mission to the International Space Station is awaiting its time to fly.
SpaceX aims to launch four private astronauts to the International Space Station on the Ax-1 mission for Houston company Axiom Space. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the mission from Pad 39A, which is located near Pad 39B Artemis 1.
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SpaceX and Axiom Space originally planned to launch the Ax-1 mission on April 3, but were pushed back to April 6 to give NASA time to conduct a wet test of Artemis 1. After delaying NASA’s Artemis 1 refueling on Sunday, SpaceX moved the launch back to Friday April 8 2022.
(wib)
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