SLS Roll-out

Message
Author
Boac
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 17209
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 5:12 pm
Location: Here

SLS Roll-out

#1 Post by Boac » Tue Mar 15, 2022 9:32 pm

Expected to move tomorrow with a dummy launch procedure on 17th.

PHXPhlyer
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 8242
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:56 pm
Location: PHX
Gender:
Age: 69

Re: SLS Roll-out

#2 Post by PHXPhlyer » Sun Apr 03, 2022 7:45 pm

NASA’s Artemis I mega moon rocket test postponed

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/03/world/na ... index.html

The final, crucial prelaunch test of NASA’s Artemis I mission to the moon was halted Sunday due to issues that prevented the safe loading of propellants into the mega rocket.

The agency’s next opportunity to begin fueling the 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) Artemis I rocket stack, including NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, is on Monday. Teams are meeting to assess whether resuming the test tomorrow is possible, and NASA will provide another update today at 5:30 p.m.

The test, known as the wet dress rehearsal, began on Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. ET.

The wet dress rehearsal simulates every stage of launch without the rocket actually leaving the launchpad. This includes powering on the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, loading supercold propellant into the rocket’s tanks, going through a full countdown simulating launch, resetting the countdown clock and draining the rocket tanks.

Operations were stopped on Sunday before loading propellants into the core stage of the rocket “due to loss of ability to pressurize the mobile launcher,” according to an update shared by the agency.

Prime and redundant supply fans for the mobile launcher weren’t working properly.

“The fans are needed to provide positive pressure to the enclosed areas within the mobile launcher and keep out hazardous gases. Technicians are unable to safely proceed with loading the propellants into the rocket’s core stage and interim cryogenic propulsion stage without this capability.”

Prior to this issue on Sunday afternoon, Artemis I weathered a powerful thunderstorm at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday.

Four lightning strikes hit the lightning towers within the perimeter of Launchpad 39B. While the first three were low-intensity strikes to tower two, the fourth strike was much more intense and hit tower one.

When these strikes occurred, the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket core stage were powered up. The rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage and boosters were not.

The fourth lightning strike was “the strongest we have seen since we installed the new lightning protection system,” tweeted Jeremy Parsons, deputy manager of the exploration ground systems program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, who has been providing regular updates all weekend. “It hit the catenary wire that runs between the 3 towers. System performed extremely well & kept SLS and Orion safe. Glad we enhanced protection since Shuttle!”

Each of the towers are topped with a fiberglass mast and series of overhead, or catenary, wires and conductors that help divert lightning strikes away from the rocket, Parsons explained. This new system provided more shielding than the one used during the Shuttle program. It also has an array of sensors that can determine the condition of the rocket after lightening strikes, preventing days of delays caused when teams have to assess the rocket.

Despite the strikes and delays, team were prepared to carry on with the wet dress rehearsal Sunday until they encountered the tanking issue.

Parsons shared a reminder that this is the point of the wet dress rehearsal – working out the kinks of a new system before launch day.

“A nice thing about this being a test, and not launching today, is that we have flexibility with the test window to work through first time issues,” Parsons tweeted.

The results of the wet dress rehearsal will determine when the uncrewed Artemis I will launch on a mission that goes beyond the moon and returns to Earth. This mission will kick off NASA’s Artemis program, which is expected to return humans to the moon and land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface by 2025.

What to expect next
When the wet dress rehearsal resumes, it will involve loading the rocket with more than 700,000 gallons (3.2 million liters) of supercold propellant – the “wet” in wet dress rehearsal – and then the team will go through all the steps toward launch.

“Some venting may be seen during tanking,” according to the agency, but that’s about it for visible action at the launchpad.

The team members will count down to within a minute and 30 seconds before launch and pause to ensure they can hold launch for three minutes, resume and let the clock run down to 33 seconds, and then pause the countdown.

Then, they will reset the clock to 10 minutes before launch, go through the countdown again and end at 9.3 seconds, just before ignition and launch would occur. This simulates what is called scrubbing a launch, or aborting a launch attempt, if weather or technical issues would prevent a safe liftoff.

At the end of the test, the team will drain the rocket’s propellant, just as it would during a real scrub.

Depending on the outcome of the wet dress rehearsal, the uncrewed mission could launch in June or July.

During the flight, the uncrewed Orion spacecraft will launch atop the SLS rocket to reach the moon and travel thousands of miles beyond it – farther than any spacecraft intended to carry humans has ever traveled. This mission is expected to last for a few weeks and will end with Orion splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

Artemis I will be the final proving ground for Orion before the spacecraft carries astronauts to the moon, 1,000 times farther from Earth than where the International Space Station is located.

After the uncrewed Artemis I flight, Artemis II will be a crewed flyby of the moon, and Artemis III will return astronauts to the lunar surface. The time line for the subsequent mission launches depends on the results of the Artemis I mission.

PP

PHXPhlyer
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 8242
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:56 pm
Location: PHX
Gender:
Age: 69

Re: SLS Roll-out

#3 Post by PHXPhlyer » Tue Apr 05, 2022 3:13 am

NASA’s Artemis I mega moon rocket test stopped for second time

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/04/world/na ... index.html

CNN

The second attempt at the final, crucial prelaunch test for NASA’s Artemis I mission to the moon was scrubbed on Monday.

The wet dress rehearsal, as NASA calls it, simulates every stage of launch without the rocket actually leaving the launchpad.

This includes powering on the 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, loading supercold propellant into the rocket’s tanks, going through a full countdown simulating launch, resetting the countdown clock and draining the rocket tanks.

The test was originally scheduled to be completed on Sunday but was put on hold before the propellant was loaded. That was due to problems with two fans used to provide pressure to the mobile launcher – the movable tower which the rocket sits upon before it lifts off.

NASA said Monday it was able overnight to resolve the malfunction of the fans, which are needed to pressurize enclosed areas inside the launcher and keep out hazardous gases.

However, the rehearsal was stopped for the second time Monday due to a vent valve issue, NASA announced via Twitter.

“Due the vent valve issue, the launch director has called off the test for the day. The team is preparing to offload LOX and will begin discussing how quickly the vehicle can be turned around for the next attempt. A lot of great learning and progress today.”


Sunday’s delay came after the rocket weathered four lightening strikes during a powerful thunderstorm at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday. However, the fan issue that forced Sunday’s delay was not thought to be connected to the storm, NASA said.

The results of the wet dress rehearsal will determine when the uncrewed Artemis I will launch on a mission that goes beyond the moon and returns to Earth. The uncrewed mission is expected to launch in June or July.

This mission will kick off NASA’s Artemis program, which is expected to return humans to the moon and land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface by 2025.

During the flight, the uncrewed Orion spacecraft will launch atop the SLS rocket to reach the moon and travel thousands of miles beyond it – farther than any spacecraft intended to carry humans has ever traveled. This mission is expected to last for a few weeks and will end with Orion splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

Artemis I will be the final proving ground for Orion before the spacecraft carries astronauts to the moon, 1,000 times farther from Earth than where the International Space Station is located.

After the uncrewed Artemis I flight, Artemis II will be a crewed flyby of the moon, and Artemis III will return astronauts to the lunar surface. The time line for the subsequent mission launches depends on the results of the Artemis I mission.

PP

PHXPhlyer
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 8242
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:56 pm
Location: PHX
Gender:
Age: 69

Re: SLS Roll-out

#4 Post by PHXPhlyer » Fri Apr 08, 2022 4:50 pm

NASA to begin third attempt at crucial moon mission test on Saturday

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/08/world/na ... index.html

A third attempt at a crucial prelaunch test for NASA’s Artemis I mission to the moon will begin on Saturday, after the two previous tries were called off, the agency said in a news release.

The wet dress rehearsal, which simulates every stage of launch without the rocket actually leaving the launchpad, will begin at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday and is expected to go until 2:40 p.m. ET Monday, according to the release.

The test is an important step in the first phase of NASA’s Artemis program, which is expected to return humans to the moon and land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface by 2025.

Blue sky and clouds serve as the backdrop for a sunrise view of the Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 23, 2022. The SLS and Orion atop the mobile launcher were transported to the pad on crawler-transporter 2 for a prelaunch test called a wet dress rehearsal. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.
NASA still hopes to launch moon mission in June despite two scrubbed trials
The wet dress rehearsal was originally scheduled to be completed last Sunday but was put on hold before the propellant was loaded. That was due to problems with two fans used to provide pressure to the mobile launcher – the movable tower the rocket sits upon before it lifts off.

The next day, NASA said it was able to resolve the malfunction of the fans, which are needed to pressurize enclosed areas inside the launcher and keep out hazardous gases.

The test was attempted again Monday but was stopped before it was completed because of an issue with a panel on the mobile launcher that controls the core stage vent valve, said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director for NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems program. The valve relieves pressure from the rocket’s core stage while tanking of the propellant is underway, according to NASA.

The results of the wet dress rehearsal will determine when Artemis I will launch on a mission that goes beyond the moon and returns to Earth.

During the flight, the uncrewed Orion spacecraft will launch atop the SLS rocket to reach the moon and travel thousands of miles beyond it – farther than any spacecraft intended to carry humans has ever traveled. This mission is expected to last for a few weeks and will end with Orion splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

Artemis I will be the final proving ground for Orion before the spacecraft carries astronauts to the moon, 1,000 times farther from Earth than where the International Space Station is located.

After the uncrewed Artemis I flight, Artemis II will be a crewed flyby of the moon, and Artemis III will return astronauts to the lunar surface. The time line for the subsequent mission launches depends on the results of the Artemis I mission.

PP

PHXPhlyer
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 8242
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:56 pm
Location: PHX
Gender:
Age: 69

Re: SLS Roll-out

#5 Post by PHXPhlyer » Sat Apr 09, 2022 3:36 pm

Are we seeing a pattern developing? :-?

NASA’s third attempt at crucial moon mission test delayed to Tuesday due to malfunctioning valve

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/09/world/na ... index.html

NASA announced Saturday that a crucial moon mission test has again been delayed and is now scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

The space agency was scheduled to begin a prelaunch test for NASA’s Artemis I mission to the moon. The Artemis program is NASA’s first mission to the moon since 1972.

On the NASA blog, the agency said the test was pushed due to a malfunctioning valve.

“Engineers have identified a helium check valve that is not functioning as expected, requiring these changes to ensure safety of the flight hardware,” the agency said. Engineers at the Kennedy Space Center will evaluate the valve and replace it if needed, the agency added.

The critical prelaunch test is known as a “wet dress rehearsal” and simulates every stage of launch without the rocket actually leaving the launchpad. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft will be powered on, supercold propellant will be loaded into the rocket’s tanks (the “wet” in wet dress rehearsal), and NASA’s team will go through a full countdown simulating the launch.

Blue sky and clouds serve as the backdrop for a sunrise view of the Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 23, 2022. The SLS and Orion atop the mobile launcher were transported to the pad on crawler-transporter 2 for a prelaunch test called a wet dress rehearsal. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.
NASA still hopes to launch moon mission in June despite two scrubbed trials
This is the third time the wet dress rehearsal has been delayed. Originally scheduled for February, the rehearsal was delayed once for further testing and then again for issues involving propellant loading. The test is essential to determining when exactly NASA will conduct its Artemis I mission, in which an uncrewed spacecraft will reach the moon and then travel thousands of miles beyond it.

NASA has said that it plans to launch the mission in June or July, depending on the results of the wet dress rehearsal. The first step will be an uncrewed mission – Artemis I. Then, Artemis II will take astronauts on a crewed flyby of the moon, and Artemis III will bring NASA astronauts to land on the lunar surface for the first time in fifty years.

The agency hopes to land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface by 2025.

PP

PHXPhlyer
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 8242
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:56 pm
Location: PHX
Gender:
Age: 69

Re: SLS Roll-out

#6 Post by PHXPhlyer » Fri Apr 15, 2022 1:31 am

Third Time's Not the Charm :-o [-X

NASA’s Artemis mega moon rocket’s crucial test experiences leak issue, delays


The third attempt at a final prelaunch test for NASA’s Artemis I mega moon rocket began Thursday morning, but the trial hit some snags and ended prematurely at 5:10 p.m. ET.

The agency will host a news conference on Friday to share updates and next steps for the test.

The mission team had been attempting to fuel the 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) Artemis I rocket stack, including NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but encountered a number of delays.

“The team will not conduct the terminal countdown activities today as planned and will assess next steps after today’s operations,” according to a tweet from Jeremy Parsons, deputy manager of the Exploration Ground Systems program at Kennedy Space Center.

The rocket remains stable and in a safe configuration, according to the agency.

NASA's new Moon rocket at Kennedy Space Center making its first journey to the launch pad. Consisting of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, the Artemis I rocket is ready to roll March 17 to Launch Complex 39B for its wet dress rehearsal on March 17, 2022 at Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, FL for a launch targeted for April 1. The dress rehearsal will test the ability to load nearly 700,000 gallons of cryogenic, propellants into the rocket while on the launch pad and practice the launch countdown, and test the ability to drain propellants to show standing down safety.
Biden's $26 billion proposal for NASA paves path for 1st human exploration on Mars
The crucial test, known as the wet dress rehearsal, simulates every stage of launch without the rocket actually leaving the launchpad. This includes loading propellant, going through a full countdown simulating launch, resetting the countdown clock and draining the rocket tanks.

The process was previously adjusted in response to an issue encountered over the weekend during preparations for this attempt.

“Any new rocket that comes forward in a new program like this kind of goes through these updates and understanding how the rocket is performing,” said Tom Whitmeyer, deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development at NASA Headquarters, during a news conference Monday. “And that’s the type of thing that we’re going through right now.”

A modified test
The issue engineers identified over the weekend is a malfunctioning helium check valve. Helium is used to purge the engine before loading supercold propellant – the wet in wet dress rehearsal – during fueling. Check valves allow gas or liquid to flow in one direction to prevent backflow. In this case, the part that isn’t working is about 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) long and keeps helium from flowing back out of the rocket.

The valve is difficult to reach while the rocket sits on the launchpad, but it can be replaced or fixed after the run-through is complete. The modified version of the wet dress rehearsal is still necessary, however, to ensure the safety of the rocket’s flight hardware.

The modified test will take the strain off of the valve and the upper rocket stage with minimal propellant operations. Previously, the team had planned to fully fuel the core and upper stages of the rocket, but the valve issue prevents that step from taking place during this test. Assessments will be made to see whether further tests are needed.

The rocket and spacecraft were powered up Wednesday night, and the team conducted a meeting at 6 a.m. ET Thursday to assess the weather and review the status of operations. The team extended a hold, which was expected to last an hour and a half to two hours, after experiencing “an issue with an outage at an off-site vendor of gaseous nitrogen used inside the rocket before propellant loading,” according to an update from NASA officials. This issue is similar to one experienced during a previous attempt on April 4.

The gaseous nitrogen is used to purge oxygen from the rocket prior to fueling, and it’s a safety measure. The team was able to reestablish the supply of gaseous nitrogen and begin fueling after 8 a.m. ET.

Fueling begins with chilling liquid oxygen lines for the core stage of the rocket. Then, liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fill the core stage through these lines, getting topped off and replenished as some of the supercold propellant boils off, according to the agency. The team will chill propellant lines for the rocket’s upper stage as well, but not release any propellant due to the existing valve issue.

The Artemis rocket core stage can hold 198,000 gallons (900,126 liters) of liquid oxygen that is cooled to negative 297 degrees Fahrenheit (negative 182 degrees Celsius). A total of 537,000 gallons of propellant will be loaded into the rocket when the core stage is fully fueled.

The team experienced several stops and starts while loading the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The latest issue was a leak “identified in the tail service mast umbilical,” connected to the rocket’s core stage and located at the base of the mobile launcher the rocket sits atop.

“Hydrogen is extremely hazardous, cold, and a small molecule that is known for leaking. All of these systems have been sealed, leak checked and tested to the highest extent possible prior to wet dress rehearsal,” according to a tweet from Jeremy Parsons, deputy manager of the Exploration Ground Systems program at Kennedy Space Center.

“Under the unique operating conditions with the rocket we are prepared and know leaks are a realistic possibility. We have amazing hazardous gas and leak detection systems that keep the rocket safe and alert us to conditions outside of normal parameters.”

The team will continue chilling down the hydrogen lines connected to the upper stage of the rocket to collect more data, and there are no plans to load liquid hydrogen or liquid oxygen into the upper stage tanks.

The core stage liquid hydrogen tank was about 5% full, and the liquid oxygen tank was 49% full. The propellant will be drained, and the team will inspect the leak and come up with a plan to move ahead.

Learning valuable lessons
Once this test is complete, the Artemis I rocket will be rolled back into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the space center.

The previous attempts at the wet dress rehearsal have already provided valuable insight, officials said, even as the team has worked through various issues.

This sequence shows how the nucleus of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) was isolated from a vast shell of dust and gas surrounding the solid icy nucleus. On the left is a photo of the comet taken by the NASA Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 on January 8, 2022. A model of the coma (middle panel) was obtained by means of fitting the surface brightness profile assembled from the observed image on the left. This allowed for the coma to be subtracted, unveiling the point-like glow from the nucleus. Combined with radio telescope data, astronomers arrived at a precise measurement of the nucleus size. That's no small feat from something 3 billion miles away. Though the nucleus is estimated to be as large as 85 miles across, it is so far away it cannot be resolved by Hubble. Its size is derived from its reflectivity as measured by Hubble. The nucleus is estimated to be as black as charcoal. The nucleus area is gleaned from radio observations.
Massive comet will swing by the sun in 2031, Hubble observes
While the exact issues identified during the test attempts weren’t anticipated, it’s part of the process when testing out a new rocket.

“I can say that these will probably not be the last challenges we’ll encounter,” said Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager at NASA Headquarters, during the conference. “But I’m confident that we have the right team in place and the ability to rally around those problems and overcome them is something that that we take pride in.”

The results of the wet dress rehearsal will determine when the uncrewed Artemis I will launch on a mission that goes beyond the moon and returns to Earth. This mission will kick off NASA’s Artemis program, which is expected to return humans to the moon and land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface by 2025.

The current launch window possibilities include June 6 through June 16, June 29 through July 17 and July 26 through August 9, Sarafin said.

PP

PHXPhlyer
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 8242
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:56 pm
Location: PHX
Gender:
Age: 69

Re: SLS Roll-out

#7 Post by PHXPhlyer » Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:45 pm

NASA sets date for next (4th) go at mega moon rocket’s crucial prelaunch test

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/15/world/na ... index.html

CNN

The Artemis I mega moon rocket is ready for its fourth attempt at a final prelaunch test, according to an update from NASA officials on Wednesday.

The crucial test, known as the wet dress rehearsal, simulates every stage of launch without the rocket leaving the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

This process includes loading supercold propellant, going through a full countdown simulating launch, resetting the countdown clock and draining the rocket tanks.

The results of the wet dress rehearsal will determine when the uncrewed Artemis I will launch on a mission that goes beyond the moon and returns to Earth. This mission will kick off NASA’s Artemis program, which is expected to return humans to the moon and land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface by 2025.

Three previous attempts at the wet dress rehearsal in April were unsuccessful, concluding before the rocket could be fully loaded with propellant due to various leaks, which according to NASA have since been corrected.

The NASA team rolled the 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) Artemis I rocket stack, including the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, back to the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 6.

Wet dress rehearsal: What to expect
The Artemis rocket will begin its next attempt at the wet dress rehearsal Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. with a “call to stations,” when all of the teams associated with the mission report that they’re ready for the test to begin.

Preparations over the weekend will set up the Artemis team to start loading propellant into the rocket’s core stage and upper stage on Monday, June 20.

The test will air live on NASA’s website, with commentary, beginning at 7 a.m. ET on Monday.

A two-hour test window will begin in the afternoon, with the Artemis team targeting the first countdown at 2:40 p.m. ET.

First, they will go through a countdown to 33 seconds before launch, then stop the cycle. The clock will be reset, then the countdown will resume again and run until about 10 seconds before a launch would occur.

The previous wet dress rehearsal attempts have already completed many objectives on the list to prepare the rocket for launch, said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director for NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program, during a news conference on Wednesday.

“We hope to finish them off this time around and get through the cryogenic loading operations along with terminal count,” she said. “Our team is ready to go and we’re looking forward to getting back to this test.”

The mission team is now looking at several possible launch windows for sending Artemis I on its journey to the moon in late summer: August 23 to August 29, September 2 to September 6 and beyond.

Once the Artemis rocket stack completes its wet dress rehearsal, it will roll back into the space center’s Vehicle Assembly Building to wait for launch day.

There is a long history behind the arduous process to test new systems before launching a rocket, and what the Artemis team is facing is similar to what the Apollo and shuttle era teams experienced, including multiple test attempts and delays before launch.

“There’s not a single person on the team that shies away from the responsibility that we have to manage ourselves and our contractors and to deliver, and deliver means meeting those flight test objectives for (Artemis I), and meeting the objectives of the Artemis I program,” said Jim Free, associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, during the news conference.

PP

PHXPhlyer
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 8242
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:56 pm
Location: PHX
Gender:
Age: 69

Re: SLS Roll-out

#8 Post by PHXPhlyer » Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:09 pm

Watch the Artemis moon rocket's final prelaunch test on the launchpad
Updated 6/20/22

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/20/worl ... index.html

(CNN)The Artemis I mega moon rocket is ready to fuel up.

The fourth attempt of a final prelaunch test started on Saturday, with fueling of the rocket expected to begin Monday morning.
The crucial test, known as the wet dress rehearsal, simulates every stage of launch without the rocket leaving the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
This process includes loading supercold propellant, going through a full countdown simulating launch, resetting the countdown clock and draining the rocket tanks.

The results of the wet dress rehearsal will determine when the uncrewed Artemis I will launch on a mission that goes beyond the moon and returns to Earth. This mission will kick off NASA's Artemis program, which is expected to return humans to the moon and land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface by 2025.
Three previous attempts at the wet dress rehearsal in April were unsuccessful, concluding before the rocket could be fully loaded with propellant due to various leaks. These have since been corrected, NASA says.
The NASA team rolled the 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) Artemis I rocket stack, including the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, back to the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 6.
Wet dress rehearsal: What to expect
The wet dress rehearsal began at 5 p.m. ET Saturday with a "call to stations" -- when all of the teams associated with the mission arrive at their consoles and report they're ready for the test to begin and kick off a two-day countdown.
Preparations over the weekend will set up the Artemis team to start loading propellant into the rocket's core and upper stages.
There is currently a live view of the rocket on NASA's website, with intermittent commentary.
Tanking was on hold Monday morning because of an issue identified with the backup supply of gaseous nitrogen. The launch team replaced the valve causing the issue. In order to make sure the backup supply is functioning as expected, it has been swapped in as the primary supply for today's test.
The hold lifted at 9:28 a.m. ET. Liquid oxygen, cooled to minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 182 degrees Celsius), and liquid hydrogen will fill the tanks. Venting may be visible as the tanks fill.
A two-hour test window will begin later, with the Artemis team targeting the first countdown at 4:38 p.m. ET. due to the tanking delay.


First, team members will go through a countdown to 33 seconds before launch, then stop the cycle. The clock will be reset; then the countdown will resume again and run until about 10 seconds before a launch would occur.
"During the test, the team may hold during the countdown as necessary to verify conditions before resuming the countdown, or extend beyond the test window, if needed and resources allow," according to an update on NASA's website.
The previous wet dress rehearsal attempts have already completed many objectives to prepare the rocket for launch, said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director for NASA's Exploration Ground Systems Program, during a Wednesday news conference.
"We hope to finish them off this time around and get through the cryogenic loading operations along with terminal count," she said. "Our team is ready to go, and we're looking forward to getting back to this test."
The mission team is looking at possible launch windows for sending Artemis I on its journey to the moon in late summer: August 23 to August 29, September 2 to September 6 and beyond.
Once the Artemis rocket stack completes its wet dress rehearsal, it will roll back into the space center's Vehicle Assembly Building to wait for launch day.
There is a long history behind the arduous testing of new systems before a launch, and the Artemis team faces similar experiences to those of the Apollo- and shuttle-era teams, including multiple test attempts and delays.
"There's not a single person on the team that shies away from the responsibility that we have to manage ourselves and our contractors and to deliver, and deliver means meeting those flight test objectives for (Artemis I), and meeting the objectives of the Artemis I program," said Jim Free, associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, during last week's news conference.

PP

Boac
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 17209
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 5:12 pm
Location: Here

Re: SLS Roll-out

#9 Post by Boac » Mon Jun 20, 2022 6:02 pm

Yet another 'valve' issue? Is this a repeat of the Shuttle 'lowest bidder' fiasco? I don't think I would want to ride it.

Boac
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 17209
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 5:12 pm
Location: Here

Re: SLS Roll-out

#10 Post by Boac » Tue Jun 21, 2022 7:28 am

A Hydrogen leak developed in the quick disconnect arm and would have prevented the completion of the test except for the fact that the 'team' told the launch control computer to ignore the leak and the test completed 'satisfactorily'............

That's alright, then..............

PHXPhlyer
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 8242
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:56 pm
Location: PHX
Gender:
Age: 69

Re: SLS Roll-out

#11 Post by PHXPhlyer » Tue Jun 21, 2022 5:25 pm

Boac wrote:
Tue Jun 21, 2022 7:28 am
A Hydrogen leak developed in the quick disconnect arm and would have prevented the completion of the test except for the fact that the 'team' told the launch control computer to ignore the leak and the test completed 'satisfactorily'............

That's alright, then..............
Mure than just a Hydrogen leak.

Artemis moon rocket achieves milestones despite issues during critical prelaunch test


https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/20/world/na ... index.html

The Artemis I mega moon rocket has been fully fueled for the first time.

The fourth attempt of a final prelaunch test started on Saturday and the rocket tanks were filled on Monday.

The crucial test, known as the wet dress rehearsal, simulates every stage of launch without the rocket leaving the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

This process includes loading supercold propellant, going through a full countdown simulating launch, resetting the countdown clock and draining the rocket tanks.

The results of the wet dress rehearsal will determine when the uncrewed Artemis I will launch on a mission that goes beyond the moon and returns to Earth. This mission will kick off NASA’s Artemis program, which is expected to return humans to the moon and land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface by 2025.

Three previous attempts at the wet dress rehearsal in April were unsuccessful, concluding before the rocket could be fully loaded with propellant due to various leaks. These have since been corrected, NASA says.

The NASA team rolled the 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) Artemis I rocket stack, including the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, back to the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 6.

Wet dress rehearsal steps
The wet dress rehearsal began at 5 p.m. ET Saturday with a “call to stations” – when all of the teams associated with the mission arrive at their consoles and report they’re ready for the test to begin and kick off a two-day countdown.

Preparations over the weekend set up the Artemis team to start loading propellant into the rocket’s core and upper stages Monday morning.

Tanking was on hold Monday morning because of an issue identified with the backup supply of gaseous nitrogen. The launch team replaced the valve causing the issue. In order to make sure the backup supply is functioning as expected, it was swapped in as the primary supply for the test.

The hold lifted at 9:28 a.m. ET. Liquid oxygen, cooled to minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 182 degrees Celsius), and liquid hydrogen were used to fill the core stage before moving on to the rocket’s upper stage. Venting was visible from the rocket throughout the process.

The core stage was mostly filled and the team was filling the upper stage when several issues occurred just after 2 p.m. ET.

The team discovered a hydrogen leak at a quick disconnect line for the core stage. Their first option did not work and they looked into options to seal the leak.

Something from the flare stack, where excess liquid hydrogen from the rocket is burned off with propane flames, caused a small grass fire burning toward a dirt road. The team monitored the grass fire and expected the fire to die out when it reached the dirt road.

The test exceeded a planned 30-minute hold, which was extended as engineers tried to work on solutions for the hydrogen leak.

The Artemis team decided to go through with one countdown, while masking the hydrogen leak issue, “in order to get further into the testing for today’s wet dress rehearsal,” according to a tweet from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems.

The 10-minute countdown began at 7:28 p.m. ET.

Typically, there are two countdowns during the wet dress rehearsal. First, team members usually go through a countdown to 33 seconds before launch, then stop the cycle. The clock is reset, and then the countdown resumes again and runs until about nine seconds before a launch would occur.

Monday’s abbreviated countdown ended prematurely with 29 seconds left on the countdown clock. A flag from the SLS rocket’s computer triggered the cutoff, but the exact flag has not been shared. Prior to the countdown, the team said if the computers involved in the countdown sense the hydrogen leak, it might be akin to a check engine light that forces a premature stop to the countdown.

Once the countdown halted, the Artemis team worked on ensuring that the vehicle was safe.


Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director for NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program, said it was “definitely a good day for us” after achieving multiple milestones outlined in the wet dress objectives, like fully tanking the rocket and getting through a countdown.

The next steps will be assessing all of the data collected from the test, including the issues, and laying out a plan to go forward, she said.

The previous wet dress rehearsal attempts have already completed many objectives to prepare the rocket for launch, Blackwell-Thompson said.

There is a long history behind the arduous testing of new systems before a launch, and the Artemis team faces similar experiences to those of the Apollo- and shuttle-era teams, including multiple test attempts and delays.
at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 23, 2022. The SLS and Orion atop the mobile launcher were transported to the pad on crawler-transporter 2 for a prelaunch test called a wet dress rehearsal. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

The mission team is looking at possible launch windows for sending Artemis I on its journey to the moon in late summer: August 23 to August 29, September 2 to September 6 and beyond.

PP

User avatar
llondel
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 5913
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2018 3:17 am
Location: San Jose

Re: SLS Roll-out

#12 Post by llondel » Tue Jun 21, 2022 7:38 pm

The mission team is looking at possible launch windows for sending Artemis I on its journey to the moon in late summer: August 23 to August 29, September 2 to September 6 and beyond.
They need to avoid 10th September because the moon will be full on that day.

Boac
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 17209
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 5:12 pm
Location: Here

Re: SLS Roll-out

#13 Post by Boac » Tue Jun 21, 2022 8:27 pm

It won't be a problem, though, will it? They are going in daytime.

PHXPhlyer
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 8242
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:56 pm
Location: PHX
Gender:
Age: 69

Re: SLS Roll-out

#14 Post by PHXPhlyer » Mon Aug 15, 2022 9:04 pm

Snoopy, mannequins and Apollo 11 items will swing by the moon aboard Artemis I

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/15/world/ar ... index.html

While no human crew will travel aboard NASA’s Artemis I mission, that doesn’t mean the Orion spacecraft will be empty.

When the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule, scheduled for liftoff on August 29, set off on a trip beyond the moon, the spacecraft will be carrying some special items on board.

Inside Orion will be three mannequins, toys and even an Amazon Alexa, along with historic and educational items.

Snoopy previewed the Artemis I rocket and spacecraft in December.

The mission – which will kick off the Artemis program, with the aim of eventually returning humans to the moon – carries on a tradition that began in the 1960s of NASA spacecraft bearing mementos. The tradition includes the Voyager probe’s gold record and the Perseverance rover’s microchip of 10.9 million names. Artemis I will carry 120 pounds of mementos and other items in its official flight kit.

Moonikins reporting for duty
Sitting in the commander’s seat of Orion will be Commander Moonikin Campos, a suited mannequin that can collect data on what future human crews might experience on a lunar trip. Its name, picked via a public contest, is a nod to Arturo Campos, a NASA electrical power subsystem manager who aided in Apollo 13’s safe return to Earth.

The commander’s post has sensors in place behind the seat and headrest to track acceleration and vibration for the duration of the mission, which is expected to last about 42 days. The mannequin will also wear the new Orion Crew Survival System suit designed for astronauts to wear during launch and reentry. The suit has two radiation sensors.

Commander Moonikin Campos will ride on Artemis I in a data-collecting suit.

Two “phantoms” named Helga and Zohar will ride in other Orion seats. These mannequin torsos are made of materials that mimic the soft tissue, organs and bones of a woman. The two torsos have more than 5,600 sensors and 34 radiation detectors to measure how much radiation exposure occurs during the mission.

The mannequins are part of the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment, a collaboration between the German Aerospace Center, the Israel Space Agency, NASA and institutions across multiple countries. Zohar will wear AstroRad, a radiation protection vest, to test how effective it could be if future crews encounter a solar storm.

The Zohar manikin will wear a protective vest called AstroRad.

Amazon’s Alexa will be along for the ride as a technology demonstration developed between Lockheed Martin, Amazon and Cisco. The tech demo, called Callisto, features reconfigured versions of Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant, and Cisco’s teleconferencing platform WebEx to test how these applications perform in space.

The goal for Callisto, named for one of Artemis’ hunting attendants from Greek mythology, is to demonstrate how astronauts and flight controllers can use technology to make their jobs safer and more efficient as humans explore deep space.

The Callisto demonstration payload is a partnership between Lockheed Martin, Amazon and Cisco. The Callisto technology demonstration will be integrated into NASA's Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I uncrewed mission to the Moon. Callisto uses Amazon Alexa and Webex by Cisco to test and demonstrate commercial technology for deep space voice, video and whiteboarding communications.
NASA's first Artemis moon mission will have a virtual astronaut: Amazon's Alexa
Callisto will ride along on Orion’s center console. The touch-screen tablet will share video and audio live between the spacecraft and Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center in Houston.

Toys in space
Snoopy and space just go together. The beloved character created by Charles M. Schulz has been associated with NASA missions since the Apollo program, when Schulz drew comic strips showing Snoopy on the moon. The Apollo 10 lunar module got the nickname “Snoopy” because its job was to snoop around and scout the Apollo 11 landing site on the moon, according to NASA.

Snoopy will serve as Artemis I's zero gravity indicator.

A Snoopy plush first flew to space in 1990 aboard the Columbia shuttle.

A pen nib used by Schulz from the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California, will join the Artemis I mission, wrapped in a space-themed comic strip. And a plush Snoopy toy will fly as a zero gravity indicator in the capsule.

The agency has a long history of using toys in space as zero gravity indicators – so named because they begin to float once the spacecraft has entered zero gravity.

As part of NASA’s collaboration with the European Space Agency, which provided the service module for Orion, a small Shaun the Sheep toy will also be an Artemis passenger. The character is part of a children’s show spinoff from the “Wallace and Gromit” series.

Shaun the Sheep is pictured in front of a model of the Orion spacecraft.

Four Lego minifigures will also ride in Orion as part of a continuing partnership between NASA and the Lego Group, in the hopes of engaging kids and adults in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.

A space time capsule
The Artemis I Official Flight Kit, which includes thousands of items, holds a variety of patches, pins and flags to share with those who contributed to the inaugural flight once the capsule splashes down in the Pacific Ocean in October.

Employees examine Artemis I mission patches ahead of the flight.

A number of the items – such as space science badges from the Girl Scouts of America, digitized student visions of lunar exploration from the German Space Agency and digital entries from the Artemis Moon Pod essay contest – honor the contributions of students and teachers with an interest in STEM.

A variety of tree and plant seeds will be on board in a nod to a similar tradition that began during the Apollo 14 mission. The seeds were later planted and became “Moon Trees” as part of an experiment to understand the effects of the space environment on seeds. NASA will share the Artemis seeds with teachers and educational organizations once the capsule returns.


The UK's space agency is hunting for 'moon trees' grown from seeds that went on the Apollo 14 lunar mission
Several Apollo items are along for the ride, including an Apollo 8 commemorative medallion, an Apollo 11 mission patch, a bolt from one of Apollo 11’s F-1 engines and a small moon rock collected during Apollo 11 that also flew aboard the final space shuttle flight. The items were shared by the National Air and Space Museum, which will feature them in an exhibit once they return.

The bolt from one of Apollo 11's F-1 engines will fly on Artemis I.

Cultural pieces will be on the flight, too. A 3D-printed replica of the Greek goddess Artemis will join the space voyage and later go on display in Greece’s Acropolis Museum. The European Space Agency shared a postcard of Georges Méliès’ famed “A Trip to the Moon” artwork for the flight kit.

And the Israel Space Agency donated a pebble from the lowest dry land surface on Earth, the shore of the Dead Sea, to travel on Artemis 1, a flight that will venture further than any human has gone before.

PP

PHXPhlyer
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 8242
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:56 pm
Location: PHX
Gender:
Age: 69

Re: SLS Roll-out

#15 Post by PHXPhlyer » Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:33 pm

Watch NASA’s mega moon rocket roll out to the launchpad ahead of liftoff

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/16/world/na ... index.html

The Artemis I mega moon rocket is ready to roll out to the launchpad – and this time, it’s for liftoff on a journey around the moon.

Engineers and technicians have been busy with checkouts and final testing of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket stack made a couple of trips to the launchpad in March and June for the wet dress rehearsal, a test that simulated every step of launch without liftoff.

Now, it’s time for the real thing.

The Artemis team is targeting its first two-hour launch window from 8:33 a.m. ET to 10:33 a.m. ET on Monday, August 29. There are backup launch windows on September 2 and September 5.

The NASA Kennedy YouTube channel will provide a livestream of the rollout, which is expected to begin at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday and will last for 10 to 12 hours.

The massive 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) stack will go for a slow 4-mile (6.4 kilometer) ride aboard one of the Apollo-era giant NASA crawlers from the assembly building to the launchpad – just like the shuttle missions and Apollo Saturn V rockets once did.

The 6.6 million-pound (3 million-kilogram) crawler will carry the towering rocket stack and its mobile launcher at a top speed of 1 mile per hour (1.6 kilometers per hour).

The iconic crawler is one of two that have operated for more than 50 years at Kennedy Space Center. The massive transporters were first put to use in 1965 and can each haul 18 million pounds (8.2 million kilograms), or the weight of more than 20 fully loaded 777 airplanes, according to NASA. The crawlers are so wide that a professional baseball diamond could sit on top of each one.

The uncrewed Artemis I will launch on a mission that goes beyond the moon and returns to Earth. Once it launches, the spacecraft will reach a distant retrograde orbit around the moon, traveling 1.3 million miles (2.1 million kilometers) over the course of 42 days before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on October 10. Orion’s return will be fast and hotter than any spacecraft has ever experienced on its way back to Earth.

The Orion spacecraft will travel father than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown, reaching 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) beyond the far side of the moon, according to NASA.
Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher, are being prepared for a wet dress rehearsal to practice timelines and procedures for launch. The first in an increasingly complex series of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and using the Moon as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.
Snoopy, mannequins and Apollo 11 items will swing by the moon aboard Artemis I
There are no humans onboard, but Orion will carry 120 pounds (54.4 kilograms) of mementos, including toys, Apollo 11 items and three mannequins.

Sitting in the commander’s seat of Orion will be Commander Moonikin Campos, a suited mannequin that can collect data on what future human crews might experience on a lunar trip. The mannequin will wear the new Orion Crew Survival System suit designed for astronauts to wear during launch and reentry. The suit has two radiation sensors.

Two “phantoms” named Helga and Zohar will ride in other Orion seats. These mannequin torsos are made of materials that mimic the soft tissue, organs and bones of a woman. The two torsos have more than 5,600 sensors and 34 radiation detectors to measure how much radiation exposure occurs during the spaceflight.

This mission will kick off NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon and land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface by 2025 – and eventually make way for human exploration of Mars.

Artemis I will also carry a number of science experiments, some of which will be installed once the rocket and spacecraft arrive at the launchpad.

PP

User avatar
llondel
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 5913
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2018 3:17 am
Location: San Jose

Re: SLS Roll-out

#16 Post by llondel » Fri Aug 19, 2022 3:50 pm

If they wanted the full experience they ought to put some Spam in the capsule as well, ref the Yeager quote.

PHXPhlyer
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 8242
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:56 pm
Location: PHX
Gender:
Age: 69

Re: SLS Roll-out

#17 Post by PHXPhlyer » Tue Aug 23, 2022 4:47 pm

Artemis I is go for launch to the moon and back, NASA says

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/22/world/na ... index.html

The Artemis I mission is ready to launch.

That’s the result of NASA’s Flight Readiness Review, which was conducted on Monday. The review was an in-depth assessment of the preparedness of the 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) stack, consisting of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, currently sitting on the launchpad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA's Artemis I Moon rocket is rolled out to Launch Pad Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 16, 2022. - Artemis 1, an uncrewed test flight, will feature the first blastoff of the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will be the most powerful in the world when it goes into operation. It will propel the Orion crew capsule into orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft will remain in space for 42 days before returning to Earth. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
Why NASA is returning to the moon 50 years later with Artemis I
The Artemis team is targeting its first two-hour launch window from 8:33 a.m. ET to 10:33 a.m. ET on Monday, August 29. There are backup launch windows on September 2 and September 5.

The “go” following the flight readiness review is a positive sign that things are on track for the mission, but there are still factors over the next week that could impact when it lifts off the pad, including bad weather.

Very little remains on the task list after previous testing rounds of the rocket on the launchpad during wet dress rehearsal, which simulated every step of launch without lifting off. There remains an open item the team will test on launch day, said Mike Sarafin, NASA’s Artemis mission manager.

The hydrogen kick start, used to thermally condition the engines, did not occur during the final wet dress rehearsal, so this process is now a component of the launch countdown. This test will occur during a “quiescent point” ahead of the final countdown, said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis I launch director at Kennedy Space Center.

The rocket stack arrived at the launchpad on August 17 after a 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) ride aboard one of the Apollo-era giant NASA crawlers from the Vehicle Assembly Building – just like the shuttle missions and Apollo Saturn V rockets once did.

The uncrewed Artemis I will launch on a mission that goes beyond the moon and returns to Earth. Once it launches, the spacecraft will reach a distant retrograde orbit around the moon, traveling 1.3 million miles (2.1 million kilometers) over the course of 42 days. Artemis I will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on October 10. Orion’s return will be faster and hotter than any spacecraft has ever experienced on its way back to Earth.

The Orion spacecraft will travel farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown, reaching 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) beyond the far side of the moon, according to NASA.

A full Moon is in view from Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 14, 2022. The Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher, are being prepared for a wet dress rehearsal to practice timelines and procedures for launch. The first in an increasingly complex series of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and using the Moon as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.
Snoopy, mannequins and Apollo 11 items will swing by the moon aboard Artemis I
There are no humans onboard, but Orion will carry 120 pounds (54.4 kilograms) of mementos, including toys, Apollo 11 items and three mannequins.

Sitting in the commander’s seat of Orion will be Commander Moonikin Campos, a suited mannequin that can collect data on what future human crews might experience on a lunar trip. The mannequin will wear the new Orion Crew Survival System suit designed for astronauts to wear during launch and reentry. The suit has two radiation sensors.

This mission will kick off NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon and land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface by 2025 – and eventually make way for human exploration of Mars.

Artemis I will also carry a number of science experiments, some of which were installed once the rocket and spacecraft arrived at the launchpad.

This week, the Artemis team will open the hatch to Orion one more time to install a plush Snoopy toy, who will serve as the mission’s zero gravity indicator. Once the spacecraft reaches the microgravity environment of space, Snoopy will float through the crew capsule.

Bob Cabana, the associate administrator for NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, reflected on watching the Apollo 13 launch as a young midshipman at the US Naval Academy.

“I never dreamed I’d end up being an astronaut, let alone director of the Kennedy Space Center or in the position I’m in now,” Cabana said. “I’m a product of the Apollo generation and look what it did for us. And I cannot wait to see what comes from the Artemis generation because I think it’s going to inspire even more than Apollo did. It was rewarding to be able to see all that work during the review today and know that we are ready to go do this.”

PP

PHXPhlyer
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 8242
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:56 pm
Location: PHX
Gender:
Age: 69

Re: SLS Roll-out

#18 Post by PHXPhlyer » Fri Aug 26, 2022 9:57 pm

These recycled space shuttle parts are now powering Artemis I to space

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/recyc ... sls-rocket#

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - When NASA’s giant new moon rocket soars into space, the roar of its rockets will be the last gasp for some pieces of space shuttle program history. The Artemis I mission’s rocket engines and boosters have direct ties to each of the shuttles and even one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts.

The Space Launch System, as it is formally called, is scheduled to blast an uncrewed Orion capsule toward the moon as soon as Monday. Over 100,000 people are expected to line Florida’s Space Coast to watch the first flight of a new moon rocket – the first since the massive Saturn V debuted on a similar test flight in 1967.

Most powerful rocket – eventually
In sheer scale, the SLS rocket nearly lives up to the Saturn V legacy. This "Block 1" initial SLS version clocks in at 322 feet high – taller than the Statue of Liberty but not as tall as the 363-foot Saturn V. Later versions of the SLS could cap out at 365 feet, though, eclipsing the famed moon rocket.

Where the SLS does top the Saturn V is launch thrust. With the help of two upgraded solid rocket boosters, the SLS will be 15% more powerful than the Saturn V, generating 8.8 million pounds of thrust at launch.

That will make it the most powerful rocket ever to successfully fly. The Soviets’ secret moon rocket, the N1, was equipped with 30 first-stage rocket engines capable of over 10-million pounds of thrust, but all four test launches failed; the longest flight did not last two minutes.

Space shuttle legacy
SLS is based on a lot of space shuttle elements, and at first glance, it’s easy to spot some of the similarities: the bright orange fuel tank, the pencil-shaped solid rocket boosters. But the engines themselves are not just similar to shuttle engines – they are space shuttle engines.

Each space shuttle was equipped with three RS-25 main engines, guzzling liquid oxygen and hydrogen from the orange external tank as they powered the reusable orbiter to space. Those engines were swapped out and refurbished after landing.

Over three decades of the shuttle program, 46 engines were produced. Of those, NASA saved 16 for use as the main engines on what became the SLS rockets; 24 more will be manufactured for future flights.

For the Artemis I mission, four veteran engines were selected, with a combined 25 flights between them, according to NASA:

Engine E2045: The most veteran engine with 12 flights, including a docking with Mir in 1998 and John Glenn's flight, also in 1998
Engine E2056: Four flights, including STS-109, a Hubble Telescope servicing trip and Columbia’s last successful mission
Engine E2058: Six flights, all to build the space station
Engine E2060: Three flights, most notably STS-135 Atlantis, the final shuttle mission
Unlike the shuttle program, though, the SLS rockets won’t be reused. The core stage and its engines will instead be dropped in the Atlantic when its fuel is gone – Apollo-style – which means these four old shuttle engines will go out in a literal blaze of glory.

But those aren’t the only pieces of shuttle legacy aboard. Many segments of the reusable solid rocket boosters were also migrated to SLS from the space shuttle program, and some of the Artemis I booster segments date back to the mid-1980s.

In fact, NASA data shows each of the white nose cone segments atop the Artemis I boosters flew on over 10 shuttle missions as far back as STS-41G, a 1984 flight of space shuttle Challenger that carried Sally Ride and Kathryn Sullivan – the first spaceflight of two American women.

Artemis I mission
The first launch window for the Artemis I mission opens just after 8:30 a.m. ET Monday. If it’s delayed for any reason, the agency plans to try again Friday and the following Monday.

The mission is scheduled to last up to 42 days, featuring an uncrewed flight around the moon by the Orion capsule, which made its debut in a successful 2014 test flight atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket.

Artemis I is designed to test not only the rocket, but the spacecraft’s ability to launch into space, enter into lunar orbit, return, and splash down safely after re-entering the atmosphere at nearly 25,000 mph. The capsule is loaded with sensors, in addition to a variety of interesting pieces of artifacts and other cargo.


What’s next?
Assuming the Artemis I mission flies successfully, the Artemis II mission – a similar flight plan, but with four people aboard – could happen within two years.

The goal of the Artemis program is to return humans to the moon, including the first woman and first person of color. Artemis III, the first moon landing mission, will be no earlier than 2025.

PP

G-CPTN
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 7594
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2018 11:22 pm
Location: Tynedale
Gender:
Age: 79

Re: SLS Roll-out

#19 Post by G-CPTN » Mon Aug 29, 2022 9:37 pm

Think of the many thousand who have travelled to watch the launch who are now left having made a pointless journey.


k3k3
Capt
Capt
Posts: 1492
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 9:44 pm
Location: In the Transit Lounge

Re: SLS Roll-out

#20 Post by k3k3 » Sat Sep 03, 2022 3:03 pm

Launch postponed again, reported to be due to a fuel leak.

Post Reply