NASA Battles Leak With Artemis 1 Launch Just Hours Away

Science NASA Battles Leak With Artemis 1 Launch Just Hours Away Eric Mack Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I cover science and innovation and products and policies they create. Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Sep 3, 2022, 10:12am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – MARCH 17: In this handout provided by the National Aeronautics and Space . . .

[+] Administration (NASA), the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen through the windows of Firing Room One in the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center atop a mobile launcher as it rolls out of High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building for the first time on its way to to Launch Complex 39B March 17, 2022 at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Ahead of NASA’s Artemis I flight test, the fully stacked and integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft will undergo a wet dress rehearsal on the launch pad to verify systems and to practice countdown procedures for the first launch.

(Photo by Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images) NASA via Getty Images UPDATE: Around 11 a. m. , NASA announced that the launch team is recommending a “no go” for the planned Artemis 1 launch Saturday, but launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson is not yet ready to scrub liftoff, so countdown remains in a hold about three hours from the opening of the two-hour launch window.

Mission controllers for the test flight of NASA’s biggest rocket ever are racing to troubleshoot a liquid hydrogen leak in an engine cavity of the Space Launch System. The SLS is set to boost an uncrewed Orion capsule on a journey around the moon, a dry run of the planned Artemis II mission in 2024 that will have astronauts aboard. You can follow along in real time on NASA’s livestream: The leak involves an eight-inch quick disconnect line that links the ground system to the rocket.

It appears the the connecting may not be seating properly. A liquid hydrogen leak is not uncommon in rockets, but certainly not what NASA wants to be working remotely today. MORE FOR YOU New Research Finds A Connection Between Domestic Violence And These Two Personality Disorders This Scientist Helps Andean Forests And Ecuador’s Women In STEM Exceptional Fossil Preservation Suggests That Discovering Dinosaur DNA May Not Be Impossible The launch of Artemis I was originally set for Monday , but different engine issues that were thought to be tied to a sensor problem scuttled the attempt, which was then reset for today.

The launch window opens at 2:17 p. m. EDT in Florida and will stay open for two hours.

NASA engineers still have time to fix the leak and proceed with propellant loading, but as of 10:27 a. m. EDT, three attempts to address the issue this morning have yielded the same results.

Time spent on the problem is eating into the built-in buffer that would be used to deal with other unforeseen bugs that may come up during the countdown. “A liquid hydrogen leak has reoccurred again in a cavity between the ground and flight side plates of a quick disconnect in the engine section,” reads the latest update from NASA at 9:36 a. m.

“Teams are discussing additional troubleshooting efforts. ” If the launch attempt is scrubbed again today, the next available launch window would be Tuesday, September 6. Developing story.

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