NASA has finally gone ahead and fixed the leaky seal aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, which was responsible for the most recent scrubbing of the Artemis I mission.
NASA
To the unaware, on September 3rd, during the second attempt of the Artemis I launch, one of the fuel lines on the SLS started leaking hydrogen. At the time, the Kennedy Space Centre ground crew tried to troubleshoot the issue thrice, however, the leak still persisted, which resulted in the launch being scrubbed.
This Friday, however, engineers managed to fix this issue. They have also gone ahead and replaced the 4-inch hydrogen bleed line that was responsible for a smaller leak in Artemis I’s first attempt, on August 29.
NASA said in a statement on Twitter, “Engineers have replaced the seals associated with the hydrogen leak detected during the #Artemis I launch attempt on Sept. 3. The teams will inspect the new seals over the weekend and assess opportunities to launch”
With the issues being fixed, NASA plans to conduct a fuelling test to see if they’re working as they’re supposed to. NASA engineers will conduct a dry run where they’ll attempt to load SLS with all 736,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen it would otherwise need for a regular flight.
The test is expected to be concluded as early as September 17. As per NASA, the test attempt will allow engineers to check the new seals under cryogenic (extremely cold) conditions, before going ahead with the launch.
Reuters
Last week, NASA had announced that it is looking at September 23 as its next date for launching the Artemis I mission followed by another launch window on September 27. Goes without saying the launch could only occur on the aforementioned dates if the upcoming seal tests are successful, as well as all clear from the US Space Force.
This is because Artemis I needs to test its battery of the flight termination system every 20 days and it can only happen in Kennedy Space Centre’s Vehicle assembly building. NASA is seeking another waiver for the same, (US Space Force had already issued one earlier) failure of which could delay the launch even further.
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