Offshore storms with the potential for lightning prevented the team from beginning the fueling process, due to start at midnight, for about an hour. Several issues cropped up after the rocket began fueling after midnight. “Had we launched on any one of those scrubs, it wouldn’t have been a good day,” he said. It was scrubbed four times on the pad and the fifth try resulted in a flawless mission. As an astronaut, he was on the 24th flight of the Space Shuttle. It’s something Nelson has personal experience with. You don’t light the candle until it’s ready to go.” It’s just illustrative that this is a very complicated machine, a very complicated system, and all those things have to work. “They’ve got a problem with the gases going on the engine bleed on one engine. “We don’t launch until it’s right,” Nelson said. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson addressed the scrub shortly after it was announced, stressing that Artemis I is a test flight. The 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) stack is sitting on Launchpad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “Our commitment to the Artemis Program remains firm, and we will return to the moon.” “While we hoped to see the launch of Artemis I today, the attempt provided valuable data as we test the most powerful rocket in history,” Harris said via Twitter. Vice President Kamala Harris, who traveled to Kennedy Space Center in Florida with second gentleman Doug Emhoff to watch the launch, underscored the United States’ commitment to NASA’s Artemis program in comments made after the postponement. ET, but the weather changed as that time inched closer. Previously, 80% favorable weather conditions had been forecast for the beginning of the window, which opened at 8:33 a.m. Later on in the window, we would have been no-go for lightning within the launchpad area,” Sarafin said. We would have been a no-go for weather at the beginning of the window due to precipitation. “There were also a series of weather issues throughout the launch window. Three of the four engines are performing as expected, but engine #3 experienced an issue. Attempts to reconfigure it were unsuccessful.ĭuring engine bleeds, hydrogen is cycled through the engine to condition it for launch. That’s because the launch team discovered an issue with an engine bleed in engine #3. Prior to the scrub, the countdown was extended into an unplanned hold as the launch team worked on a troubleshooting plan for one of the rocket’s four engines. Both the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft remain stable, according to NASA officials. The launch team still needs to troubleshoot the engine issue and will keep the rocket in its current configuration to gather data and assess what needs to be done. If a substantial fix is needed the team may require more time to address it and roll the rocket stack back into the Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building, a process that takes 3 1/2 days. The team also saw an issue with the vent valve at the inner tank and the combination of issues convinced the team they needed more time, Sarafin said. So we needed a little extra time to assess that,” Sarafin said. “We need the engine to be at the cryogenically cool temperature such that when it starts, it’s not shocked with all the cold fuel that flows through it. The launch team knew that the bleed test was a risk because they weren’t able to include it in previous wet dress rehearsal tests simulating the launch, and Monday was the first time demonstrating that, Sarafin said.Ĭurrently, the issue doesn’t suggest an engine problem, but rather an issue within the bleed system that is used to cool the engine, he said. “Engineers are continuing to gather additional data.” “Launch controllers were continuing to evaluate why a bleed test to get the RS-25 engines on the bottom of the core stage to the proper temperature range for liftoff was not successful, and ran out of time in the two-hour launch window,” according to an update from NASA. The next window after that is September 5, opening at 5:12 p.m. The next launch window is September 2, opening at 12:48 p.m. Sarafin confirmed that “Friday is definitely in play” if the team can resolve the issue while the rocket sits on the pad within the next 48 to 72 hours. The next opportunity to send the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft on their journey is September 2, but whether or not another attempt is made that day depends on how testing goes. We’re going to play all nine innings here. “We really need time to look at all the information, all the data. “It’s too early to say what the options are,” said Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager at a NASA press conference. The launch of NASA’s historic Artemis I moon mission has been postponed after the team was unable to work through an issue with one of the rocket’s four engines.
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