New lunar rocket launch delay problems – VG

At 2.33pm on Monday, the launch of NASA’s most powerful rocket ever was scheduled, but after several problems it has now been postponed. The Artemis I space mission will mark the beginning of America’s return to the Moon — 50 years after it was last.

According to plan, the Space Launch System rocket with the Orion space capsule was scheduled to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 08.33 local time on Monday.

Engine problem

14.15 Norwegian time NASA tweets The launch was unexpectedly halted while the team worked to solve problems with engine number three. This first launch window was for two hours.

A little after 2:30 p.m., it’s clear that the launch won’t take place on Monday. At 14.45, NASA tweeted that today’s launch has been called off while they work on the engine issue. There are backup solutions planned for release on September 2nd and 5th.

on me NASA Live Blog Upon launch, Rachel Kraft writes that they have a pause in the countdown while engineers review the case of engine number three, one of four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the SLS rocket core.

Technicians also trace what looks like a crack in the heat shield in one of the “seams” in the core.

See photos of the SLS missile here:

launch launch Artemis Space Project which aims to return humans to the moon after 50 years, he writes BBC.

The experimental space capsule on this tour is unmanned and is scheduled to fly in a loop around the moon before returning and landing in the Pacific Ocean in about six weeks.

If all goes well, the astronauts will join a series of manned space flights starting in 2024. It is expected that there will be astronauts on the moon during the third expedition in 2025.

Everything we do with Artemis I spaceflight is being done to see what we can test and what we can prove to reduce risks to the crew on Artemis II spaceflight, NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik tells the BBC.

fuel leak

Florida weather at the time, with frequent electrical storms, meant that the possibility of delaying the launch was announced. But the first window was from 14:33 NST and two hours ago.

The news agency reported Monday morning AP That a fuel leak disrupted the countdown.

According to the Associated Press, the leak occurred at the same location as the leak during countdown testing in April and June. Refueling was already delayed by an hour due to marine thunderstorms when controllers detected a liquid hydrogen fuel leak and stopped the refueling.

The 98-meter long rocket will be filled with approximately 3.8 million liters of fuel, whether liquid oxygen or hydrogen.

NASA tweets that in transition from slow to liquid hydrogen (LH2) refueling Detect an increase in the amount of leakagewhich they are achieving. “The leak is at an acceptable level and we are back to refuel quickly.” They write before 10.30 Norwegian time.

call delay

In addition to the fuel issue, there was a communication challenge for launch manager Charlie Blackwell Thompson on Sunday. Engineers resolved the 11-minute delay in communication between the control center and the Orion space capsule by Monday morning.

The most powerful space rocket ever

According to NASA, the SLS rocket is the most powerful rocket ever made. to me CNBC Artemis I was delayed by several years, and the program cost billions off the budget.

In 2012, it was estimated that the SNL rocket would cost $6 billion to develop through to completion in 2017, and $500 million per launch.

But only now is SNL ready, with a price tag of 20 billion to develop and $4.1 billion per launch. Nevertheless, the Artemis program has broad political support in both parties.

NASA’s internal inspector said earlier this year that the lunar program spent much more money than planned and that it was unlikely that the technology needed to land on the moon would be ready until 2026 at the earliest.

Artemis is also based on SpaceX technology. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been contracted to deliver a version of the Starship rocket designed specifically for landing crews on the Moon. So far, the Starship tests have not put the space shuttle into orbit.

A number of American companies supply equipment for the space rocket and capsule, such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

The previous space program to land astronauts on the Moon was Apollo, from 1969 to 1972, when 12 astronauts landed on the Moon.

One of the goals of the Artemis program is to create a lunar base where astronauts can stay for weeks at a time.