SLS on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo: NASA-J. Kowlsky
NASA’s mission management team has made the decision to retry the launch of the Artemis 1 Space Launch System on Saturday afternoon, saying a faulty sensor was to blame for Monday’s skid .
The space agency’s 322-foot-tall (98-meter) Space Launch System (SLS) currently sits proudly on Launch Pad 39B at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, but hopefully it won’t be much longer. After reviewing the data from Monday’s bushel, NASA’s mission management team has decided to continue with the mission, telling reporters Tuesday evening that the next launch attempt will occur on Saturday. NASA had previously selected Friday, September 2 and Monday, September 5 as possible launch days, so the decision to attempt a launch on Saturday came as a complete surprise.
At the briefing, Marc Berger, a meteorologist with the US Air Force Weather Squadron, assessed a 60 percent chance of a weather violation occurring within the launch window. It sounds daunting, but Berger said afternoon showers are likely to be sporadic and “tend to have a lot of real estate between them,” so a launch opportunity will likely present itself within the two-hour window. Artemis launch manager Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said that in the event of friction caused by inclement weather, another launch attempt could be made within 48 hours.
All eyes are on the Kennedy Space Center as NASA attempts to launch the largest rocket the space agency has ever built. Leaving the launch pad with 8.8 million pounds of thrust, SLS will attempt to deliver an uncrewed Orion capsule into space, where it will make a round trip to the Moon and back. Artemis 1 is a test mission intended to set the stage for a crewed Artemis 2 mission in 2024 and a crewed Artemis 3 mission to the lunar surface later this decade. Through its Artemis program, NASA is trying to return humans to the lunar environment and keep them there.
The reason for Monday’s scrubbing had to do with a center stage engine not reaching the ultra-cold temperature required for launch. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, SLS program manager John Honeycutt said the problem was the result of a faulty sensor, rather than the engine not reaching the desired coolant temperature. “We’re seeing some goodness in the data,” he said, which makes the team optimistic about the next attempt to cool the engines. That said, Honeycutt said his team is developing a plan if a similar engine reading appears during Saturday’s launch attempt. “We’ll have a go/no-go plan instead of sitting around scratching our heads,” he added.
G/O Media may receive a commission
Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, said that an adjustment will be made to the loading procedure, as the teams will start the engine cooling procedure earlier than usual. SLS has four RS-25 engines that must be very cold before the sudden entry of cryogenic propellants during launch. On Monday, sensor readings indicated that engine #3 did not reach the target temperature, but NASA says it most likely reached the desired temperature of about -420 degrees Fahrenheit (-250 degrees Celsius).
Additionally, crews will work on the rig to address the leak observed in the hydrogen tail service umbilical, Sarafin added. Blackwell-Thompson said of the upcoming bearing work: “We want to do some inspections and we want to re-twist.”
Monday’s fumble drew criticism from experts, who complained that NASA essentially used the launch attempt as a fifth wetsuit test. Four previous tests held earlier this year were not fully completed, with approximately 10% of test targets unaccounted for. Aside from the Green Run tests conducted at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, the launch countdown has not gone past 29 seconds T-29.
SLS could fly Saturday, but it will require NASA to venture into uncharted territory, especially during the very late stages of the launch. Hopefully, NASA’s extensive experience with rockets will prevail and we’ll finally get to see this majestic rocket fly through the skies of Florida.