Artimis I Monday launch scrubbed

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - The launch of NASA’s historic Artemis I moon mission has been postponed after the team was unable to work through an issue with one of the rocket’s four engines. Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, said it was too early to tell precisely what will happen, but the next opportunity to send the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft on their journey is Friday, but whether or not another attempt is made that day depends on how testing goes. Sarafin confirmed that Friday is in play if the team can resolve the issue in the next 48 to 72 hours while the 322-foot-tall rocket sits on the Launchpad 39B. If it does not launch Friday, the next opportunity is Monday. A bleed test to get the RS-25 engines on the bottom of the core stage to the proper temperature range for liftoff was not successful. The issue involved engine Number 3. The launch team knew that the bleed test was a risk because they weren’t able to include it in previous wet dress rehearsal tests simulating the launch. Currently, the issue doesn’t suggest an engine problem, but rather an issue within the bleed system that is used to cool the engine. The team also saw an issue with the vent valve at the inner tank and the combination of issues convinced the team they needed more time, Sarafin said. When Artemis I launches, Orion’s journey will last 42 days as it travels to the moon, loops around it and returns to Earth – traveling a total of 1.3 million miles The Space Launch System is the most powerful rocket ever built. (2.1 million kilometers). When it returns to Earth, the capsule will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. (Source: multiple, including CNN, Washington Post, 08/29/22) Gulf Coast note: The four RS-25 engines are recycled and modified engines used in the Space Shuttle program. They were tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss. The rocket itself was built at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.