NASA officials have declared the latest “wet suit test” of the Artemis 1 moon rocket a success and hope the mission can take off as soon as the end of August.
The pile of Artemis 1 – a Space launch system The rocket (SLS) crowned by an Orion capsule: is scheduled to return to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on July 1, where the massive vehicle will undergo to repairs and preparations for its next release. .
Artemis 1the first launch of the SLS, will send an unmanned Orion on a mission of about a month the moon. The mission has experienced several delays and, more recently, the certification of the rocket to fly has been withheld by incomplete fuel tests, a key part of the wet clothing test, a series of three-day tests designed to assess the preparation of a new vehicle for the flight.
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The Artemis 1 stack rolled for the first time from the VAB to KSC’s Pad 39B in mid-March, to prepare for a dress rehearsal that began on April 1st. But three different attempts to fill the SLS with cryogenic propellants during this effort failed, sending the battery. return to the GVA for repairs on April 25th. The most recent wet suit test, which ended Monday (June 20), did not go perfectly, but NASA has he considered it good enough to continue preparations for the launch.
Operators were able to fully power SLS for the first time, which took the launch simulation much further than any of the April attempts. During Monday’s power test, a leak was detected from the “umbilical” line of the central stage engine cooling system, but those in charge of the mission determined that the diversion posed no safety risk and went continue with the simulation terminal count. This turned out to be the right decision, said members of the Artemis 1 team.
According to Phil Weber, senior director of technical integration, the mission operators were able to run a “mask” for the leaking of the ground sequencer software, which allowed the computers in control of the mission to recognize the malfunction without marking it as a reason to stop the countdown. to the KSC. Weber joined other agency officials in a press call on Friday (June 24) to discuss Artemis 1’s plans now that the wet suit is in the rearview mirror.
The software mask allowed the count to continue until the transfer from the mission control computers to the automated launch sequencer (ALS) aboard the SLS in T-33 seconds, which finally ended the count to T- 29 seconds.
“[ALS] it was really the prize for us for the day, “Weber said during Friday’s call.” We were hoping … it would come out. [of the countdown] because the ALS is looking for the same measure and we don’t have the capacity to mask it on board. ”
Immediately after the recent wet suit, it was unclear if another would be needed, but mission team members left that question later.
“At this time, we determined that we had successfully completed the assessments and required the work we wanted to complete for the general rehearsal,” Tom Whitmeyer, associate associate manager of Common Exploration Systems at NASA headquarters, told Tom the Friday call. He added that NASA teams now have the “go ahead” with preparations for the launch of Artemis 1.
Before the VAB can be returned, however, the battery will undergo additional maintenance on Pad 39B, including repairs to the quick disconnect component of the stern umbilical SLS, which was responsible for Monday’s hydrogen leak. .
There is also one more test technician you need to perform on the pad. The hot ignition of the hydraulic power units (HBUs), part of the SLS solid rocket propellants, was originally part of the wet suit countdown, but was omitted when the countdown was aborted. These tests will be completed on Saturday (June 25), according to Lanham. After the hot fire tests, operators will spend the weekend unloading hydrazine fuel from the HBUs.
Once back at the VAB, NASA officials estimate that it will take six to eight weeks of work for the Artemis 1 to be ready to return to Pad 39B for a real takeoff. Cliff Lanham, senior director of vehicle operations at KSC, described some of the maintenance planned for Friday’s call.
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Among other tasks, technicians will perform standard vehicle inspections, hydrogen leak repairs, “late stowage” for payloads flying to Orion, and software loads in the SLS center stage and upper stage. They will also install flight batteries.
“Ultimately, we want to get to the tests of our flight termination system,” Lanham said. “Once completed, we will be able to conduct our final inspections on all volumes of the vehicle and make our closures.”
Once this work is completed, the Artemis 1 stack will re-exit the VAB, causing the eight-to-11-hour tracking to return to Pad 39B on July 1st. Whitmeyer said Friday that Artemis 1’s late-August release window, which opens Aug. 23 and lasts a week, “is still on the table.”
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