NASA will try again next Saturday from Cape Canaveral, on the east coast of Florida (USA), to launch the unmanned mission Artemis I into space bound for the Moon, after suspending takeoff this Monday due to a problem technician, those responsible for the program reported Tuesday.
Source: EFE
“Teams reviewed data from Monday’s launch attempt of the #Artemis I mission and are moving forward with a second launch attempt on Saturday, September 3,” NASA announced today.
The “window” of the new launch opens that day from 14:17 US Eastern Time (18:17 GMT), as announced by those in charge of the space program.
In a teleconference, Mike Sarafin, director of the Artemis I, confirmed that, after carefully studying what happened, it was determined that the main failure had to do with the adequate temperature that the engine must have at takeoff, after loading of liquid hydrogen.
In this way, one of the four RS-25 engines of the powerful SLS rocket designed for this mission could not reach the proper temperature range required for the engine to start at liftoff.
On Monday, technicians unsuccessfully tried a series of correctives until they were finally forced to suspend the launch.
“We agreed on what was called option one, which was to operationally change the charging procedure and start cooling our engine earlier,” said Mike Sarafin.
According to information from NASA on its Twitter account, the Artemis I assembly, which includes the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft, continues today on launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Monday’s suspension was a setback for a mission that some media have estimated at 4,000 million dollars, and which marked the full-fledged debut of the SLS rocket, 98 meters high (more than the statue of liberty in New York) and the most powerful built to date, thanks to its four RS-25 engines and two attached boosters.
The mission aims to make a round trip to the Moon and seeks to test the capabilities of the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule.
The Artemis I also wants to calibrate the capabilities of the Orion ship, which can fit up to four crew members, and with water and oxygen reserves that would allow it about 20 days of independent travel.
If the new attempt fails on Saturday, there is another backup opportunity for the Artemis I mission to take off on September 5, the program directors detailed.
