The launch is scheduled for two:17 p.m., with a two-hour launch window. Climate for a Saturday launch additionally may very well be difficult, with solely a 40 % likelihood of favorable situations. However since there’s a two-hour window and showers are anticipated to be intermittent alongside the Florida coast, climate officers suppose there may very well be sufficient time alternative for the launch to happen.
The launch try Monday was scrubbed after NASA engineers had been unable to decrease the temperature of one of many engines to what’s required for launch. The RS-25 engines burn liquid hydrogen gas, which is saved at minus-423 levels Fahrenheit. To get the engines prepared for such a particularly chilly fluid, NASA bleeds a bit of little bit of gas by way of in order that the engines received’t be shocked because the gas begins flooding in.
Final 12 months, NASA was in a position to gas the rocket after which hearth the 4 engines for his or her full eight-minute period throughout a check at NASA’s Stennis Flight Middle in Mississippi. However since then, the company has struggled with getting the rocket fueled and prepping the engines for launch.
Honeycutt mentioned Tuesday NASA engineers had been unsure whether or not the temperature studying was the results of a failure to chill the engine or a nasty sensor not returning correct data.
Honeycutt mentioned that on Monday liquid hydrogen was flowing by way of the engines and did cool three of the engines as anticipated. The fourth, although, was “completely away from bed” with the others.
Honeycutt mentioned that changing the sensor on the pad “could be difficult.” As a substitute, NASA ought to have the ability to inform if the engines are on the proper temperature by an array of information sources as an alternative of counting on a single sensor. Additionally, NASA officers mentioned they’d make a procedural change and begin chilling the engines 30 to 45 minutes earlier, as they did throughout the profitable check final 12 months in Mississippi, to present them extra time to work by way of any issues.
“What I’m saying is, the one factor that I do know to alter to duplicate the success we had at Stennis is transferring to check earlier within the timeline,” Honeycutt mentioned.
Throughout a earlier fueling check, NASA by no means acquired to the purpose the place it flowed the liquid hydrogen in as a result of it had a leak, forcing the company to finish the check earlier than attending to that step.
Mike Sarafin, the Artemis I mission supervisor, had advised reporters Monday that the groups knew that would pose an issue throughout the launch try however determined to proceed anyway.
“We knew that that was a danger added into this launch marketing campaign, and it will be the primary time demonstrating that,” he mentioned.
Jim Free, NASA’s affiliate administrator for exploration programs improvement, Monday defended the choice to proceed with the launch try. “There have been loads of questions of ought to now we have rolled again and tried to do one other check. We nonetheless really feel like going for at present was the appropriate factor to do,” he mentioned.
The Artemis program is an bold try by the company to return astronauts to the moon for the primary time for the reason that Apollo period. (In Greek mythology, Artemis is the dual sister of Apollo.) The primary of the Artemis missions, Artemis I, is designed to ship the Orion spacecraft in orbit across the moon with none astronauts on board. The following flight, Artemis II, would ship as many as 4 astronauts within the capsule, once more to orbit however not land on the moon. If all goes to plan, a touchdown would come someday in 2025 or 2026.
