Today, a second launch attempt was thwarted by a persistent hydrogen leak, which Artemis mission manager Michael Sarafin described as “substantial” in a news conference after the failed launch. A small hydrogen leak was also noticed during the attempt on the 29th of last month, but this time the leak was much larger.
The launch, whenever it happens, will be the first for NASA’s SLS giant rocket, a very expensive and extremely delayed construction rocket that has been in development for more than a decade. The rocket’s first launch was set to launch an uncrewed pod called Orion on a mission called Artemis One. The mission is intended to serve as a test flight to pave the way for future missions that will take astronauts to the moon.
NASA has yet to announce when the next attempt to launch Artemis 1 will take place, but a better idea is expected in a few days. Engineers are focusing on part of the refueling system that helps get liquid hydrogen fuel into the rocket, which can be quickly disconnected from the rocket after refueling. This “quick disconnect” has a seal around it and is designed to prevent hydrogen leakage, which is called “soft cargo”. One solution being considered is to remove and replace the soft cargo around the quick disconnects.
Now the engineering team is currently trying to figure out if it is better to do this replacement within the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and fix any other issues, or if it should stay on the platform. Both methods have risks and benefits. As Sarafin pointed out, if NASA stayed on the launch pad, they could immediately test the system at cryogenic temperatures, which would give them a better idea of how it would perform on an actual launch. The downside is that NASA also needs to build an environmental enclosure to stay on the platform. If they return to the VAB, the building itself will act as an environmental enclosure. But while NASA can replace and test problematic components inside the VAB, it can only do so at ambient temperatures, not cryogenics.
Shortly after the failed second launch on Saturday, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that if SLS rolls back to the VAB for repairs, the next launch attempt is likely to take place in mid-to-late October, after the planned trip earlier in the month. Crew mission to the International Space Station after takeoff. The process of rolling the large rocket back to the VAB took several hours.
There is also another complication. Another timer kicked in when the rocket rolled out to the launch tower on Aug. 16. NASA has 20 days to launch the rocket, before it must roll back to the assembly building to test the batteries of the rocket’s flight termination system. The termination system is part of the rocket that the Space Force can use to destroy the rocket if something goes wrong during launch and flight. NASA was approved to extend that to 25 days, but that time is running out. Unless NASA gets another extension, it’s going to go back to the VAB anyway.
“We won’t launch until we see fit,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a news conference. “So I see this as part of our space program, where safety is our number one priority.”