Despite a new valve problem, NASA says it is ready to proceed with the next phase to test the mega rocket that will send the unmanned Artemis 1 mission to the moon in November.
Initially, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket performed well during the series of “green run tests” this fall. That said, ground equipment problems kept the final procedures for “wet dress rehearsal” until late December, when NASA tried to fill the nuclear stage with fuel.
The agency and contractor Boeing, which is building the core phase of the rocket, made another attempt last month and a new issue arose during the next test attempt on December 20, NASA said in a blog post on Tuesday (January 5). But a solution has been implemented that would enable everyone to proceed with the next phase of testing – a ‘hot fire’, which will not take place until January 17, NASA officials said in the blog post.
“The end of the [Dec. 20] testing was automatically stopped a few minutes early due to the timing of a valve closure, “NASA added.” Subsequent analysis of the data determined that the predicted closure of the valve was turned off by a fraction of a second, and the hardware, software, and stage controller performed properly to stop the test. The team has corrected the timing and is ready to proceed with the final test of the Green Run series. ‘
Video: NASA’s SLS rocket core stage will be tested soon
Related: NASA’s SLS megarocket ‘hot fire’ test delayed after early shutdown during heating
In the same statement, Julie Bassler, SLS stage manager at NASA, added that other parts of the test went according to plan, including the software for green industry, the core stage and the stage controller. There were also no leaks during a two-hour period when the rocket tanks were full of fuel. “Data from all the tests so far has given us the confidence to continue with the hot fire,” Bassler added.
The hot fire will test all four SLS core phase RS-25 engines – the same type of engines used with the spacecraft. During the test, the engines will shoot up to eight minutes on the test stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. If the hot fire is planned, NASA and Boeing plan to refurbish the nuclear phase and ship it to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for final assembly and launch.
NASA is working hard to get all its equipment ready to send humans to the lunar orbit by 2023 – a mission for which it has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada to send one of the country’s astronauts around the moon . A crew of the lunar landing is then scheduled for another mission in 2024, using some of the “Artemis Team” astronauts announced by NASA last month.
Also in December, Congress’s omnibus spending bill, which provided NASA with $ 23.3 billion for fiscal year 2021, allocated $ 850 million to the Artemis human landing system, about a quarter of NASA’s $ 3.3 billion. request. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine warned the National Space Council on December 9, before the spending amount was confirmed, that the full budget request is needed to reach the moon in 2024. “Ultimately, if we do not get the $ 3.3 billion, it will become more and more difficult,” he said at the time.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.