NASA’s 2nd attempt after the Mega Moon rocket crash-Information Technology

NASA’s second attempt to fuel the mission’s Mega Moon Artemis 1 super-rocket encountered another problem April 4 due to a jammed valve on the ground equipment.

The Mega Moon rocket is being refueled

A trapped vent valve aloft on the mobile launcher structure supporting the Artemis Space Launch System 1 rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Launchpad 39B forced NASA, agency officials said. must test test Artemis 1 after starting refueling on 4/4.

Jeremy Parsons, NASA’s deputy director for ground systems, wrote on Twitter after the test: “Due to a problem with the vent valve, the launch director stopped testing for the day. The team is preparing to offload the LOX (liquid oxygen) and will begin discussing rotational speeds for the next attempt.”

Wednesday’s refueling attempt was NASA’s second attempt to fill the core stage of the 98-meter-tall Artemis 1 SLS rocket with 2.6 million liters of supercooled liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellant in the new test. best. The test, which began April 1, included a full launch countdown drill, including refueling.

NASA attempted to fuel the Artemis 1 lunar booster on April 3, but stopped before loading began due to a problem with pressurization on the mobile launchpad that caused toxic gases. damage out of enclosed areas where technicians work. On April 4, the technicians loaded about 50% of the liquid oxygen needed for the fuel test before shutting down for the day.

Monday’s test was originally intended to simulate a launch countdown that would end at 2:40 p.m. EDT (11840 GMT), but delays involving the rocket’s nitrogen supplier have caused this has stalled.

It’s not clear if NASA will be able to recycle for a third refueling on April 5, or will have to stop to replenish its propellant supply and allow its crews and launch controllers time to rest. .

SpaceX continues to launch rockets to the space station

SpaceX and Axiom Space originally planned to launch the Ax-1 mission on April 3, but pushed it back to April 6 to allow NASA time for Artemis 1 exercise. NASA’s Artemis 1 was delayed on Sunday, SpaceX pushed the launch back again, this time on April 8.

Whether the Ax-1 mission launches on April 8 or is delayed depends on NASA’s plans for the Artemis 1 refueling test. Meanwhile, SpaceX is also preparing to launch four more astronauts to the space station for NASA on April 20 as part of the Crew-4 mission. That flight will take three NASA astronauts and one European Space Agency astronaut to the orbiting lab.

However, the crew had to wait for the Ax-1 mission to kick off (since both were launched from Pad 39A), thus waiting for NASA to complete the Artemis 1 rehearsal. As it stands, Crew-4 is currently on is scheduled to be released on April 20.