NASA engineers have successfully replaced leaking seals in the SLS rocket’s fuel system, which should fix a problem with a hydrogen leak in the 8-inch pipeline leading to the main stage of the 100-meter Space Launch System (SLS) super-heavy launch vehicle. It was because of this malfunction that the launch of the Artemis 1 mission was canceled on 3 September . Gaskets were also replaced on the 4-inch hydrogen exhaust pipe, which prevented an earlier scheduled launch on 29 August.
A test refueling of the rocket with fuel is scheduled for September 21 – it will be filled with 2,786,063 liters of liquid hydrogen and oxygen. After that, NASA will be able to test the rocket for pumping during a quick launch. The four main SLS engines will be brought to minus 420 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 251 degrees Celsius) to prepare them for fuel supercooling. This test failed during the previous two launch attempts.
The actual launch of the Artemis 1 mission is tentatively scheduled for September 27 or October 3 (backup date). Everything depends directly on the results of future tests and the decision of the US Space Force. According to the terms of the latter, NASA must test the SLS every 25 days – in fact, the rocket must be sent from the launch pad to the hangar. Previously, this was only 20 days.
Artemis 1 will be NASA’s first test flight as part of the Artemis mission, aiming to return astronauts to the Moon by 2025. The first flight is to test the space launch system of the rocket and its spacecraft to make sure they are safe for astronauts. After launch, Artemis 1 will spend more than a month in flight, looping around the Earth’s natural satellite in a long orbit, and then return to our planet, landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
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NASA and Boeing will re-try to launch SLS rockets with the Artemis 1 mission before the month of next month
Source: NASA
