The very last test of SLS (“Space Launch System”), the giant lunar rocket 98 m high, has been suspended, NASA announced on Tuesday.
The dress rehearsal for the launch was postponed for a few moments to allow for the launch of a SpaceX rocket.
The test and launch are both scheduled for this Friday at Cape Canaveral, Florida, respectively at launch pads 39B and 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
The test of the lunar rocket should thus resume shortly after the takeoff of SpaceX, which must transport three businessmen and a former astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS).
We're preparing for the next attempt at the #Artemis I wet dress rehearsal, pending range availability and restoration of propellants and gases during the test.
Learn more about what our team accomplished during the past two test runs: https://t.co/5xoUoiLOOq pic.twitter.com/dKj4Z2XHbo
— NASA's Kennedy Space Center (@NASAKennedy) April 6, 2022
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Technical problems and a thunderstorm
For this final test before its takeoff for the Moon in 2022, all the steps leading to a launch must be repeated, from filling the tanks to the final countdown.
The test was originally scheduled to last from Friday to Sunday but NASA encountered "a myriad of technical challenges", according to Mike Sarafin, head of the Artemis program back on the Moon.
The weather was also uncooperative.
Four lightning strikes indeed hit the launch pad during a thunderstorm.
A valve also refused to open when filling the liquid hydrogen tanks (it had been mistakenly held in the closed position).
"We have not encountered any fundamental flaws", however reassures Mike Sarafin.
Artemis 1 will mark the first flight of SLS.
The Orion capsule at its top will be propelled to the Moon, where it will be placed in orbit before returning to Earth.
This first mission will not yet have astronauts on board.
The take-off date will be announced after the dress rehearsal.
A launch window is possible in early June, another in early July.
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