The Artemis 1 rocket consists of the six-person Orion capsule perched on the 30-story Space Launch System (SLS) — dubbed the “moon mega rocket” — and was originally scheduled to launch its maiden voyage to the Moon and back. on August 29. But technical difficulties prevented the first two attempts to launch the rocket. NASA aborted the rocket’s first attempt because engineers were unable to cool one of the rocket’s four main stage RS-25 engines to a safe temperature in time for launch. The agency announced it had resolved the problem, which it blamed on a faulty temperature sensor. Then, during the rocket’s second attempt, an alarm sounded as the craft was being loaded with supercooled liquid hydrogen fuel, alerting engineers to a gap in the seal of one of the rocket’s engines. Engineers tried and failed to plug the leak three times, NASA said. NASA said the leak was at a “fast disconnect” where the SLS core stage met the fuel line from the rocket’s mobile launch tower, which the agency fixed by replacing two seals at the leak. The US space agency says the first launch opportunity will be on September 27, with a backup opportunity on October 2. NASA engineers plan to prove the leak has been fixed by conducting a propellant pumping test on the spacecraft on September 17. “The updated dates represent careful consideration of several logistical issues, including the added value of having more time to prepare for the cryogenic demonstration test and then more time to prepare for launch,” NASA officials wrote in a blog post announcing the new launch. date. “The dates also allow managers to ensure teams get enough rest and replenish cryogenic propellant supplies. Orion is planned to make two lunar flybys 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the Moon’s surface, zipping up to 40,000 miles (64,000 km) past the moon before returning to Earth 38 days after launch. NASA has loaded three mannequins into the capsule that will be used to test radiation and heat levels during the flight. A Snoopy soft toy is also along for the ride, floating inside the capsule as a marker of zero gravity. When Orion returns, it will return hotter and faster than any spacecraft ever, heating up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,800 degrees Celsius) as it enters Earth’s atmosphere at 32 times the speed of sound. This will test the capsule’s removable heat shield, which, along with the craft’s parachute, will use air friction to slow Orion to just 20 mph (32.2 km/h), after which it will drop safely in the Pacific Ocean. the coast of Baja California, Mexico, ready for recovery. The flight will be followed by Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 in 2024 and 2025/2026 respectively. Artemis 2 will make the same journey as Artemis 1, but with a human crew of four, and Artemis 3 will send the first woman and first person of color to land on the Moon’s south pole. Speaking to BBC Radio 4 ahead of the second launch attempt, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the test mission would be a spur to technological innovation and a critical next step in humanity’s exploration of the universe. “This time we’re not just going for the touchdown [on the Moon] and we leave after a few hours or a few days — we will return to learn, to live, to work, to explore, to determine whether there is water. therefore at [moon’s] south pole that would mean we have rocket fuel, we have a gas station up there,” Nelson said. “This time we’re going to learn how to live in this hostile environment for long periods of time, all with the goal of getting to Mars.” Originally published in Live Science.
