NASA set for third attempt to launch Artemis rocket to the moon - CBS News

After repeated substance leaks, 2 hurricanes and a brace of motorboat delays, engineers had refueled NASA's $4.1 cardinal Space Launch System rocket for a third motorboat try aboriginal Wednesday. The Artemis 1 motorboat would footwear disconnected a long-awaited maiden formation to nonstop an uncrewed Orion capsule to ellipse the moon. NASA acceptable the motorboat clip for 1:47:44 a.m. EST aft a mates delays.

Using a slower, alleged "kindler, gentler" fueling process to minimize unit spikes that contributed to earlier leaks, the motorboat squad began loading 730,000 gallons of ultra-cold liquid oxygen and hydrogen substance for the SLS halfway signifier astatine 3:55 p.m. EST.

The Space Launch System rocket, poised for blastoff from pad 39B astatine the Kennedy Space Center. NASA

Engineers were optimistic the caller procedures would guarantee a creaseless modulation from dilatory to "fast fill," the constituent during earlier fueling attempts erstwhile a crisp ramp-up successful unit caused leakage successful quick-disconnect umbilical seals astatine the basal of the rocket's halfway stage.

"We are much assured than we person ever been successful our loading procedures and however to bash it successful specified a mode that puts the slightest magnitude of unit connected the seals," said Jeremy Parsons, lawman manager of Exploration Ground Systems astatine the Kennedy Space Center.

This clip around, the rocket's tanks were filled without incident. But precocious successful the countdown, a valve utilized to replenish hydrogen successful the halfway signifier developed an intermittent leak. A three-man "red crew" was sent to the pad to tighten bolts astir the valve successful a bid to minimize the leakage and support the countdown connected track.

One different occupation that developed late: occupation with information relay from a Space Force Eastern Range tracking radar. Engineers scrambled to regenerate an ethernet power earlier the opening of the SLS rocket's two-hour motorboat window, which closes astatine 3:04 a.m. EST. Both issues were resolved, but ngo managers had to bid a hold portion the squad made up for mislaid time.

The last 10 minutes of the countdown were expected to culminate successful ignition of 4 hydrogen-fueled main engines, followed seconds aboriginal by ignition of 2 upgraded shuttle-heritage solid-fuel boosters.

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At that instant, machine commands volition beryllium sent to detonate 4 monolithic explosive bolts astatine the basal of each booster, freeing the 5.7-million lb SLS to ascent distant atop 8.8 cardinal pounds of thrust, concisely turning nighttime into time arsenic it roars skyward connected a somewhat northeasterly trajectory.

Rapidly accelerating arsenic it consumes propellant and loses weight, the SLS was expected to beryllium moving faster than dependable little that 1 infinitesimal aft liftoff. One infinitesimal aft that, the 2 strap-on boosters were expected to pain retired and autumn distant leaving the 4 engines powering the halfway signifier to proceed the ascent to space.

Eight minutes aft liftoff, the formation program called for the the SLS 2nd signifier and the attached Orion capsule to abstracted from the halfway signifier successful an archetypal elliptical orbit tilted 34 degrees to the equator. The halfway stage, meanwhile, volition beryllium near to autumn backmost into the ambiance to interruption up implicit an unpopulated agelong of the Indian Ocean.

Two captious "burns" were required of the azygous motor powering the Interim Cryogenic Propulsions Stage, oregon ICPS: 1 to rise the debased constituent of the archetypal orbit and a 2nd to propel the Orion retired of Earth's gravitational clutch and connected to the moon. The 18-minute-long trans-lunar injection, oregon TLI, pain was expected astir 90 minutes aft launch.

The Orion capsule was expected to abstracted from the ICPS astir 2 hours aft launch, voyaging connected to the satellite for a 60-mile-high flyby Monday, utilizing lunar gravity to fling it into a distant orbit that volition transportation it farther from Earth than immoderate human-rated spacecraft.

The Artemis 1 ngo is the archetypal successful a bid of SLS/Orion flights intended to found a sustained beingness connected and astir the satellite with a lunar abstraction presumption called Gateway and periodic landings adjacent the southbound rod wherever crystal deposits whitethorn beryllium reachable successful cold, permanently shadowed craters.

Future astronauts whitethorn beryllium capable to "mine" that crystal if it's contiguous and accessible, converting it into air, h2o and adjacent rocket substance to vastly trim the outgo of heavy abstraction exploration.

More generally, Artemis astronauts volition transportation retired extended exploration and probe to larn much astir the moon's root and improvement and trial the hardware and procedures that volition beryllium indispensable earlier sending astronauts to Mars.

Oxygen and hydrogen substance lines participate the Space Launch System rocket's halfway signifier done retractable umbilicals extending from protective housings known arsenic process work masts (left). Leaking seals successful quick-disconnect fittings wherever the umbilicals connect to the halfway signifier triggered aggregate delays during the rocket's testing. Engineers were optimistic revised fueling procedures volition forestall problematic leaks during fueling Wednesday. NASA

The extremity of the Artemis 1 ngo is to enactment the Orion spacecraft done its paces, investigating its star power, propulsion, navigation and beingness enactment systems earlier a instrumentality to Earth December 11 and a 25,000-mph plunge backmost into the ambiance that volition taxable its protective vigor shield to a hellish 5,000 degrees.

Testing the vigor shield and confirming it tin support astronauts returning from heavy abstraction is the No. 1 precedence of the Artemis 1 mission.

If each goes good with Artemis 1, NASA plans to motorboat a 2nd SLS rocket successful precocious 2024 to boost 4 astronauts connected a looping free-return trajectory astir the satellite earlier landing the archetypal pistillate and the adjacent antheral connected the lunar aboveground adjacent the southbound rod successful the Artemis 3 mission.

That flight, targeted for motorboat successful the 2025-26 timeframe, depends connected the readiness of caller spacesuits for NASA's moonwalkers and a lander being built by SpaceX that's based connected the plan of the company's reusable Starship rocket.

SpaceX is moving connected the lander nether a $2.9 cardinal declaration with NASA, but the institution has provided small successful the mode of details oregon updates and it's not yet known erstwhile NASA and the California rocket builder volition really beryllium acceptable for the Artemis 3 lunar landing mission.

But if the Artemis 1 trial formation is successful, NASA tin cheque disconnected its request for a super-heavy-lift rocket to get the archetypal missions disconnected the crushed and connected to the moon.

In:
• Moon
• Artemis Program
• NASA