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NASA Artemis I Mega Moon Rocket Test Battles Lightning, Pressure Issues

slsdawn

The big one: NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) is expected to launch in 2022, but it needs to tick off a few more milestones.

NASA

An issue with pressurizing the mobile launcher has forced NASA to scrub its wet dress rehearsal of the Artemis I mega moon rocket on Sunday — but it expects to resume the rehearsal on Monday.

The wet dress rehearsal is necessary for NASA to test out basically every system leading up to launch of its mega moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), without actually launching the rocket. The propellant tanks of the SLS were due to be loaded on Sunday morning but NASA said it lost the ability to pressurize the mobile launcher, the platform providing all the vital connections to the rocket, because of an issue with two fans designed to create a positive pressure and “keep out hazardous gases.”  Artermis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said the team made the decision to stand down to troubleshoot the issue and “make another run” at the wet dress rehearsal tomorrow. 

“I’m confident we’re going to get through the wet dress in fairly short order, we just gotta work through these problems,” added Mike Sarafin, Artemis I mission manager, during a NASA media teleconference on April 3.

For safety, we’ve stopped the #Artemis I wet dress rehearsal. Teams are meeting now to assess next steps. We are looking at Monday, April 4 as the next opportunity to resume operations, and will have a media briefing later today.

Check here for updates. https://t.co/pweviGRjwg

— NASA (@NASA) April 3, 2022

The wet dress rehearsal has also had to contend with some nasty Florida weather. The SLS rocket and Orion capsule are both currently stationed at Launch Complex 39B in Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral. The severe weather that rolled by resulted in lightning strikes around the pad.

“It turned out we had not one, but we had four, lightning strikes inside the pad perimeter,” said Sarafin. “We had prepared for lightning strike as part of our mission preps,” he noted. 

Lightning strikes tower one of Artemis I’s lightning protection system.

NASA

The fourth was the strongest lightning strike and though it did no damage, with the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule both not powered. However, the weather did set the team back by about four hours according to Blackwell-Thompson. The team is targeting 2:40 p.m.

ET for T-0 on Monday, April 4. It will involve filling the SLS tanks with 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. But while they wait, maybe some of those engineers will sneak a look at WrestleMania results. 

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