NASA may finally push through its historic Artemis 1 launch next week after the U.S. space agency completed a crucial rocket fuel test.
NASA engineers had added super-cooled fuel to the Space Launch System's tanks to confirm that the repairs they made had worked after the agency was forced to scrub the scheduled August 27 launch of the Artemis 1 mission due to a persistent hydrogen leak that affected one of the SLS fuel lines, Engadget revealed in a report. After attempting to fix the leak three times during the day, the repairs were unsuccessful, leading to the decision to abort the launch.
SLS Thrust Involves Burning 3 Million Liters of Liquid Hydrogen, Oxygen
The SLS is the U.S. space agency's most powerful rocket ever designed to bring astronauts and equipment back to the Moon for the first time in five decades, BBC noted in a report.
Much of the rocket's massive thrust involves burning about three million liters of super-cold liquid hydrogen and oxygen in four enormous engines on the underside of the spacecraft.
When the team made the command on the morning of August 27 to fill the rocket's hydrogen tank, an alarm went off, alerting the controllers that there was a leak.
The leak was caused by a problem In the connection where the liquid hydrogen was being pumped into the spacecraft.
What Caused Artemis 1's SLS Liquid Hydrogen Leak
After a few days, the Artemis 1 team determined that the leak was caused by the SLS core rocket booster encountering overpressurization. To prevent this from happening, the team adjusted its procedures for filling propellants into the rocket's tank, and this involves more slowly transitioning temperatures and pressures to avoid abrupt changes that could result in leakage.
Artemis 1 engineers also replaced the rocket's liquid hydrogen seals after spotting a small indentation in one of them that could have contributed to the hydrogen leak.
Leak Reduced to Allowable Rates to Accomplish Other Needed Pre-Launch Tests
In the latest rocket fuel test, engineers still encountered a hydrogen leak, but in a subsequent troubleshooting effort, they were able to limit such leak to "allowable rates" for them to conduct the pre-pressurization test, which had the liquid hydrogen tank's pressure level to match what it would encounter just before an actual launch.
Artemis 1 launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said the fuel test went "really well" with the team accomplishing its objectives. NASA is now set to look at the rocket fuel test data before finally deciding to schedule the launch for the mission on September 27.
The Artemis I mission is uncrewed, but NASA Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin told the BBC that the rocket's future role in human space missions meant extreme care was needed in any such effort. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson agreed, saying: "I look at this as a part of our space program, of which safety is the top of the list."
Related Article : NASA Postpones Artemis 1 Launch Following Issues Found During Countdown
