{"id":17354,"date":"2022-09-03T18:13:43","date_gmt":"2022-09-03T10:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-scrubs-second-try-to-launch-moon-rocket-due-to-persistent-hydrogen-leak\/"},"modified":"2022-09-03T18:13:43","modified_gmt":"2022-09-03T10:13:43","slug":"nasa-scrubs-second-try-to-launch-moon-rocket-due-to-persistent-hydrogen-leak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-scrubs-second-try-to-launch-moon-rocket-due-to-persistent-hydrogen-leak\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA scrubs second try to launch moon rocket due to persistent hydrogen leak"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An overhead view shows the Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System rocket. (NASA via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA called off today\u2019s attempt to launch its Space Launch System rocket due to a hydrogen leak encountered during the process of fueling up the core stage. <\/p>\n

Mission managers said they\u2019d have to pass up the current opportunity for liftoff, and although a firm decision hasn\u2019t yet been made, it seems likely that the next launch attempt will have to wait until October. <\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s uncrewed test mission, known as Artemis 1, is meant to blaze a trail for sending astronauts to the moon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll go when it\u2019s ready,\u201d NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. \u201cWe don\u2019t go until then, and especially now, on a test flight, because we\u2019re going to stress this and test it \u2026 and make sure it\u2019s right before we put four humans up on the top of it. So, this is part of the space business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s scrub at Kennedy Space Center in Florida came five days after an initial postponement, which was attributed to concerns about the procedure for cooling down the SLS\u2019s rocket engines prior to launch. Engineers suspected the problem was due to a bad sensor, and changed their procedures to deal with that scenario. However, today\u2019s countdown didn\u2019t get far enough to use those procedures.<\/p>\n

This time around, the issue had to do with the fuel line that NASA uses to fill up the SLS\u2019s tank with super-cooled liquid hydrogen propellant. Engineers detected a persistent leak in the connection between the fuel line and the rocket, and tried three times to reseat a seal in the connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, attempts to troubleshoot it did not succeed,\u201d NASA launch commentator Derrol Nail said.<\/p>\n

The rocket\u2019s liquid oxygen tank was fully filled, but Nail said the liquid hydrogen tank was only 11% filled when the countdown was called off at 11:17 a.m. ET (8:17 a.m. PT) \u2014 exactly three hours before the scheduled launch time. <\/p>\n

During a post-scrub news briefing, Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin said a valve was mistakenly opened in advance of today\u2019s propellant loading process \u2014 which resulted in hydrogen pressure rising beyond the standard limit of 20 pounds per square inch to as high as 60 psi. He cautioned, however, that mission managers have not yet linked that inadvertent overpressure to the hydrogen leak.<\/p>\n

Sarafin said the leak resulted in a concentration of hydrogen in ambient air that was two to three times higher than the 4% that NASA considers a safe level. \u201cThis was not a manageable leak,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mission managers are continuing to assess their next steps. Sarafin said it will probably take \u201cseveral weeks\u201d to fix the leak. The rocket may have to be rolled back from the launch pad to NASA\u2019s Vehicle Assembly Building for further work. In any case, it will take until late September or, more likely, October to do what\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n

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