NASA abruptly called off the test flight of the moon rocket with 29 seconds remaining on the clock

It's possible that the problem was caused by a leak of liquid hydrogen inside the rocket.

 

On Monday (June 21), with just 29 seconds remaining on the countdown clock, NASA abruptly stopped a rehearsal launch for its vast "Mega Moon rocket," which would one day return humans to the surface of the moon. This occurred 20 seconds earlier than the original timetable. The premature halt of the practice was mainly attributed to the fact that there was a leak of liquid hydrogen within the rocket, as stated by agency authorities.

 

According to The Verge, this is the fourth consecutive attempt to accomplish a rehearsal launch of the powerful rocket, which is formally dubbed the Space Launch System (SLS). However, despite the leak that occurred at the very last minute, engineers were still able to accomplish a more significant number of their launch goals than ever before. For example, they were able to fuel the deep-space rocket for the very first time successfully.

 

At a news briefing after the test, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the launch director for NASA's Artemis mission, which aims to bring the first woman and person of color to the moon and establish a permanent base there, said in a news briefing after the test, "I would say that the majority of our objectives were met." Blackwell-Thompson made this statement after the test was completed. We may have fallen short on some of the more insignificant sub-goals that were contained within that overarching core goal.

 

According to a recent report by Live Science, the SLS is the most powerful rocket that NASA has ever constructed. According to NASA, the Space Launch System (SLS) will reach a height of 322 feet (98 meters), which is taller than the Statue of Liberty, and weigh 5.75 million pounds (2.6 million kilograms) when it is topped off by the crew vehicle that will carry the rocket's first human passengers. The SLS will stand taller than the Statue of Liberty.

 

The Saturn V rocket that NASA utilized during the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s was slightly shorter than this, but the Space Launch System (SLS) more than makes up for its smaller size in terms of its impressive power. According to the Houston Space Center, the Space Launch System (SLS) will be capable of delivering 8.8 million pounds (4 million kg) of thrust, which is 15% more than the Saturn V's 7.5 million pounds (3.4 million kilograms) of thrust. As a result of this, the Space Launch System (SLS) will have the capacity to transport more than 27 tons (30 tons) of cargo to the moon. This cargo will eventually comprise the components necessary to build the first permanent outpost at the lunar south pole.

 

The launch that took place on Monday, which was referred to as a "dress rehearsal," was intended to serve as a simulation of the SLS's first launch, which had been scheduled for August 2022 at the earliest. According to The Verge, the rocket's engineers had planned to call off the launch with nine seconds left on the countdown clock, which is the point just before the sequence begins to ignite the main engines at the rocket's base.

 

Even though the hydrogen leak prevented the flight crew from achieving a couple of their launch objectives, the team's most recent rehearsal was the most successful one to date. The staff was forced to temporarily remove the Space Launch System (SLS) from the launch pad so that it could be repaired after three previous rehearsals ended before the rocket was fully fueled.

 

According to Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, who spoke during the briefing, the SLS team has already met roughly 90% of their pre-launch objectives. However, NASA has not announced when the first genuine SLS flight will take place. This journey will include launching an empty crew capsule around the moon on a trip that will take several weeks. NASA has not stated whether or not this most recent setback will cause a delay in the launch timeline.

Article source : https://www.livescience.com/sls-rocket-rehearsal-aborted

Image source  : https://pixabay.com/id/photos/peluncuran-roket-roket-pergi-67723/