Washington, after repeatedly stopping the “wet general rehearsal” of the Artemis 1 rocket, NASA has successfully completed the crucial power test of its Megacoet Space Launch System (SLS).
The Artemis 1 wet suit rehearsal ended at 7:37 p.m. EDT on June 20, NASA said in a statement.
“This is the first time that the team has fully loaded all the propulsion tanks of the SLS rocket and proceeded to the countdown launch of the terminal, when many critical activities in rapid succession took place, in the northern space agency. -americana.
However, the test did not go well.
During propellant loading operations, the team found a hydrogen leak in the quick disconnect that connects an umbilical from the tail launcher service pole of the mobile launcher to the center stage of the rocket.
Although the team tried to fix the leak by heating the quick disconnect and then cooling it back to align a seal, their efforts did not solve the problem, NASA said.
The computer then intentionally “masked” the data associated with the problem to allow the countdown to continue. During a real countdown, this data would have raised red flags. This change was delayed, “but they were able to resume with the last 10 minutes of the countdown,” NASA said.
“Today’s #Artemis I wet suit testing activities have concluded after a modified countdown setup and successfully adding propellant to the rocket. We will review the data and meet to discuss the next steps,” they said. write mission officials on Twitter.
The final test is the culmination of months of assembly and testing for SLS and Orion, as well as preparations for the engineering and launch control teams, and set the stage for the first release of Artemis.
Artemis 1 was scheduled to launch in late May 2022. However, due to multiple delays in its wet general rehearsal, the mega lunar rocket has advanced further.
The success of the final test could lay the groundwork for its first launch in August, NASA had previously stated.
The unmanned Artemis I mission is the first flight of the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft together. Future missions will send people to work in the lunar orbit and on the surface of the moon.
With the Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon and establish a long-term exploration to prepare the missions to Mars.
FacebookTwitterLinkedin