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 tough, with solely a 40 p.c probability of favorable circumstances. 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 gasoline, which is saved at minus-423 levels Fahrenheit. To get the engines prepared for such an especially chilly fluid, NASA bleeds a bit little bit of gasoline by in order that the engines received’t be shocked because the gasoline begins flooding in.
Final yr, NASA was capable of gasoline the rocket after which fireplace the 4 engines for his or her full eight-minute length throughout a take a look at 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 stated Tuesday NASA engineers had been unsure whether or not the temperature studying was the results of a failure to chill the engine or a foul sensor not returning correct data.
Honeycutt stated that on Monday liquid hydrogen was flowing by the engines and did cool three of the engines as anticipated. The fourth, although, was “completely off the bed” with the others.
Honeycutt stated that changing the sensor on the pad “can be tough.” As a substitute, NASA ought to be capable to inform if the engines are on the proper temperature by taking a look at an array of information sources as an alternative of counting on a single sensor. Additionally, NASA officers stated they’d make a procedural change and begin chilling the engines 30 to 45 minutes earlier, as they did throughout the profitable take a look at final yr in Mississippi, to provide them extra time to work by any issues.
“What I’m saying is, the one factor that I do know to vary to copy the success we had at Stennis is transferring to check earlier within the timeline,” Honeycutt stated.
Throughout a earlier fueling take a look at, NASA by no means received 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 take a look at earlier than attending to that step.
Mike Sarafin, the Artemis I mission supervisor, had informed 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 could be the primary time demonstrating that,” he stated.
Jim Free, NASA’s affiliate administrator for exploration techniques improvement, Monday defended the choice to proceed with the launch try. “There have been lots of questions of ought to we’ve got rolled again and tried to do one other take a look at. We nonetheless really feel like going for right this moment was the precise factor to do,” he stated.
The Artemis program is an bold try by the company to return astronauts to the moon for the primary time because the 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 subsequent 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.
