NASA has failed three refueling tests.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – The United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will test its new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket next month. This is what the official said NASA this week.
After three failed wet dress exercises (wet dress) where the rocket is brought to the launch pad and filled with fuel, the rocket will remain in its storage building until mid-June.
Technicians will continue to work on the problems revealed in the previous exercise which was first conducted on Sunday (3/4/2022). Meanwhile, the rocket remained in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center.
NASA officials said in a teleconference that progress had been made in fixing two problems that arose during the test, including replacing a helium check value that crashed during a second test on April 4.
NASA said the grade had jammed open due to a small piece of rubber inside that stopped it from closing and they were still investigating the origin of the rubber.
Another problem was the leak of the liquid hydrogen fuel used to power the rockets which forced the third attempt at the wet dress rehearsal to be canceled on April 16. The probable cause of this leak was a loose bolt on the gasket and it has since been tightened.
Reported Digital TrendsMonday (9/5/2022), Senior Vehicle Operations Manager for NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program Cliff Lanham said it should fix the leak problem but they don’t know for sure until they try to run the fuel one more time.
NASA will attempt a fourth clean rehearsal in early June or mid-June. However, they also warned that one more exercise might be needed after this to prepare the rocket for its first orbital launch. The rocket is currently slated for launch as part of the Artemis mission I in June this year, but now it will be postponed until August at the earliest.
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