CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Fuel leaks have forced NASA to scrub the launch of its new moon rocket on a no-crew test flight.
(Click below to watch the launch)
The next launch attempt will not take place until Friday at the earliest.
The 322-foot Space Launch System rocket was set to lift off Monday morning with three test dummies aboard on its first flight, a mission to propel a capsule into orbit around the moon.
The shakedown flight, when it happens, will be a big step forward in America’s quest to put astronauts back on the moon for the first time since the end of the Apollo program 50 years ago.
NASA hopes to send four astronauts around the moon in 2024 and land humans there as early as 2025.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Fuel leaks and a possible crack discovered during final liftoff preparations threatened to delay the launch of NASA’s mighty new moon rocket Monday morning on its shakedown flight with three test dummies aboard.
As precious minutes ticked away, NASA repeatedly stopped and started the fueling of the Space Launch System rocket with nearly 1 millions gallons of super-cold hydrogen and oxygen because of a leak. The fueling already was running nearly an hour late because of thunderstorms offs Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.
The leak appeared in the same place that saw seepage during a dress rehearsal back in the spring.
Then a second apparent leak in a valve turned up, officials said.
Later in the morning, a crack or some other defect was spotted on the core stage — the big orange fuel tank with four main engines on it — with frost appearing around the suspect area, NASA officials said. Engineers began studying the buildup.
The rocket was set to lift off on a mission to put a crew capsule into orbit around the moon. The launch represents a major milestone in America's quest to put astronauts back on the moon for the first time since the Apollo program ended 50 years ago.
NASA’s assistant launch director, Jeremy Graeber, said after the repeated struggles with the first leak that the space agency would have to decide whether to go forward with the Monday morning launch.
"We have a lot of work to get to that point," Graeber cautioned.
If Monday’s launch can’t go forward, the next launch attempt wouldn’t be until Friday at the earliest.
The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket is the most powerful ever built by NASA, out-muscling even the Saturn V that took the Apollo astronauts to the moon.
No astronauts were inside the rocket's Orion capsule. Instead, three test dummies were strapped for the six-week mission, scheduled to end with the capsule's splashdown in the Pacific in October.
Even though no one was on board, thousands of people jammed the coast to see the rocket soar. Vice President Kamala Harris was expected among the VIPs.
The launch is the first flight in NASA’s 21st-century moon-exploration program, named Artemis after Apollo’s mythological twin sister.
Assuming the test goes well, astronauts would climb aboard for the second flight and fly around the moon and back as soon as 2024. A two-person lunar landing could follow by the end of 2025.
The problems seen Monday were reminiscent of NASA's space shuttle era, when hydrogen fuel leaks disrupted countdowns and delayed a string of launches back in 1990.
Launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson and her team also had to deal with a communication problem involving the Orion capsule.
Engineers scrambled to understand an 11-minute delay in the communication lines between Launch Control and Orion that cropped up late Sunday. Although the problem had cleared by Monday morning, NASA needed to know why it occurred before committing to a launch.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA pressed toward the launch of a new moon rocket Monday to put a crew capsule into lunar orbit for the first time in 50 years, after a leak reappeared in the same place that saw seepage during a dress rehearsal back in the spring.
As precious minutes in the countdown ticked away, launch controllers repeatedly halted the fueling operation, which already was running nearly an hour late because of thunderstorms offshore of Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.
NASA’s assistant launch director, Jeremy Graeber, said controllers finally managed to get the leak down to a safe and acceptable level, where it held steady as nearly 1 million gallons of super-cold fuel filled the tanks of the rocket’s core stage.
Graeber said NASA still has a shot at launching Monday morning, but won’t target a new liftoff time until the 10-minute hold in the countdown when managers conduct the “go-no go” poll.
"We have a lot of work to get to that point," Graeber cautioned.
The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket is the most powerful ever built by NASA, out-muscling even the Saturn V used by the Apollo program that carried astronauts to the moon a half-century ago.
No astronauts were inside the Orion capsule. Instead, three test dummies were strapped in for the lunar-orbiting mission, expected to last six weeks.
Even though no one was on board, thousands of people jammed the coast to see the Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket soar. Vice President Kamala Harris flew into Orlando with her husband, but had yet to make the hourlong drive to Cape Canaveral for the planned liftoff.
If Monday's launch can't go forward, the next launch attempt wouldn’t be until Friday at the earliest.
A hazardous hydrogen fuel leak marred NASA's countdown test back in April, prompting a slew of repairs. The demo was repeated with more success in June, but that, too, experienced some leakage. Managers had said they would not know for certain whether the fixes were good until attempting to load the rocket's tanks Monday.
The problem was reminiscent of NASA's space shuttle era, when hydrogen fuel leaks disrupted countdowns and delayed a string of launches back in 1990.
Launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson and her team also had to deal with a communication issue involving the Orion capsule.
Engineers scrambled to understand an 11-minute delay in the communication lines between Launch Control and Orion that cropped up late Sunday. Although the problem had cleared by Monday morning, NASA needed to know why it occurred before committing to a launch.
This first flight of NASA's 21st-century moon-exploration program, named Artemis after Apollo's mythological twin sister, is years overdue. Repeated delays have led to billions in budget overruns; this demo alone costs $4.1 billion.
Assuming the test goes well, astronauts would climb aboard for the second flight and fly around the moon and back as soon as 2024. A two-person lunar landing could follow by the end of 2025. NASA is targeting the moon's south pole.
During Apollo, 12 astronauts landed on the moon from 1969 through 1972, with stays of no more than a few days. NASA is looking to establish a lunar base during Artemis, with astronauts rotating in and out for weeks at a time. The next step would be Mars, possibly in the late 2030s or early 2040s.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A fuel leak interrupted NASA's launch countdown for its new moon rocket early Monday, reappearing in the same place that saw seepage during a dress rehearsal back in the spring.
Launch controllers halted the tanking operation, which already was running an hour late because of thunderstorms offshore. They slowly resumed the process to confirm that it was, indeed, a hydrogen fuel leak and not faulty sensors, but alarms forced another temporary pause as precious minutes in the countdown ticked away.
The 322-foot rocket is the most powerful ever built my NASA, out-muscling even the Saturn V that carried astronauts to the moon a half-century ago.
This test flight, if successful, would put a crew capsule into lunar orbit for the first time in 50 years.
No astronauts were inside the Orion capsule atop the rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Instead, three test dummies were strapped in for the lunar-orbiting mission, expected to last six weeks.
Even with no one on board, thousands of people jammed the coast to see the Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket soar. Vice President Kamala Harris flew into Orlando with her husband, but had yet to make the hourlong drive to Cape Canaveral for the planned liftoff.
The next launch attempt wouldn’t be until Friday at the earliest.
Hydrogen fuel leaks marred NASA's countdown test back in April, prompting a slew of repairs. The demo was repeated with more success in June, but that, too, experienced some leakage. Managers said they would not know for certain whether the fixes were good until attempting to load the rocket's tanks with nearly 1 million gallons of super-cold fuel on Monday.
Launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson and her team also had to deal with a communication issue involving the Orion capsule.
Engineers scrambled to understand an 11-minute delay in the communication lines between Launch Control and Orion that cropped up late Sunday. Although the problem had cleared by Monday morning, NASA needed to know why it occurred before committing to launch.
This first flight of NASA's 21st-century moon-exploration program, named Artemis after Apollo's mythological twin sister, is years overdue. Repeated delays have led to billions in budget overruns; this demo alone costs $4.1 billion.
Assuming the test goes well, astronauts would climb aboard for the second flight and fly around the moon and back as soon as 2024. A two-person lunar landing could follow by the end of 2025. NASA is targeting the moon's south pole.
During Apollo, 12 astronauts landed on the moon from 1969 through 1972, with stays of no more than a few days. NASA is looking to establish a lunar base during Artemis, with astronauts rotating in and out for weeks at a time. The next step would be Mars, possibly in the late 2030s or early 2040s.
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