Moon Mission Artemis-2: NASA Postpones Planned Launch After Problems to March
Although dress rehearsal for the launch of the moon rocket SLS was successful, problems caused hours of interruptions. The launch is therefore being postponed.
The Orion capsule of the Artemis-2 mission before the moon
(Image: NASA/Sam Lott)
The NASA has largely successfully completed the fueling of the moon rocket SLS for the manned mission Artemis-2, but has now postponed the planned launch to March. The US space agency announced this after the “wet dress rehearsal” and added that the crew is therefore allowed to leave quarantine. Before attempting the first manned moon flight in over 53 years again, NASA wants to test the fueling process again. The reason is likely to be a persistent hydrogen leak that delayed the countdown for hours during the first test run. To close it, those responsible stopped the flow so that the interface and seals could warm up.
Crew may leave quarantine
Despite this delay, the test was considered successful overall, with all tanks being filled. The countdown then proceeded to within five minutes of launch before being stopped. The cold weather otherwise did not interfere with the test fueling, but several cameras and other equipment stopped working, NASA writes. If they had actually intended to launch the moon rocket, the low temperatures would have required additional attention. The results of the dress rehearsal will now be reviewed and discussed before an official launch date is set. The crew will then have to go into quarantine again two weeks beforehand.
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During the approximately 49-hour test, various procedures were carried out exactly as they must take place before the actual launch. In addition to fueling with supercooled liquid oxygen and hydrogen, this included a full countdown with planned hold points as well as the controlled abort and restart of the launch sequence in case of technical problems or unfavorable weather conditions. In addition to the on-site launch teams and the control center in Houston, other NASA centers were involved. “We absolutely expected to encounter challenges,” said the new NASA administrator Jared Isaacman.
With Artemis-2, NASA aims to fly humans to the moon again after more than 50 years, but it will only be an orbit. The crew consists of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch from NASA, as well as Canadian Jeremy Hansen. On their ten-day flight, they will first orbit the Earth and then accelerate towards the Earth's satellite. Four days are then allocated for the flight there. If everything goes according to plan, on the follow-up mission Artemis-3, humans will reach the surface of the moon – this is currently planned for 2028. In the fall of 2022, an unmanned capsule flew around the moon during the first mission of the ambitious Artemis program, and NASA expressed great satisfaction at the time.
(mho)
