Nasa: the mega rocket for the Moon back in the garage after a failed test

Europe 1 with AFP 10:51 a.m., April 19, 2022

NASA's giant new rocket to the Moon, SLS, will be taken back to its assembly building to undergo modifications after a failed first test at its Florida launch pad, almost certain to push takeoff back to summer of his first mission.

Despite several attempts to carry out this test at the Kennedy Space Center, the teams of the American space agency encountered a series of problems, having led them to decide to return the rocket to shelter before retrying this final dress rehearsal.

A defective valve will in particular have to be changed, an operation which could not be carried out on the launch pad.

A leak was also discovered during the last filling operations of the main stage with liquid hydrogen, which will have to be solved.

Despite working well, "very complicated operations"

For "any new launch system, when it goes through this process for the first time, that's the kind of stuff you learn", justified on Monday during a press conference Tom Whitmeyer, head of systems development exploration at NASA.

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"The vehicle itself works very well, but the operations are very complicated," he added.

The test consists of repeating all the steps leading up to a launch, from the filling of the tanks to the final countdown, stopped just before the ignition of the engines.

NASA has not yet specified when it intends to carry out a new test, but repairs in the assembly building will take at least several weeks, said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, director for the launch of Artemis.

A takeoff already postponed several times

Artemis is the name given to the American return to the moon program.

The first mission, Artemis 1, will mark the first flight of SLS, whose development has been years behind schedule.

The mission will take place without an astronaut on board: the Orion capsule, located at the top of the rocket, will be propelled to the Moon and placed in orbit, before returning to Earth.

The take-off date must be announced after the dress rehearsal.

A launch window was possible in early June, but is now proving very difficult to hold, Tom Whitmeyer said on Monday.

The following launch windows, determined in particular by the position of the Earth and the Moon, extend from June 29 to July 12, then from July 26 to August 9.

The take-off, initially announced for the end of 2021, has already been postponed many times.