Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to conduct a critical refueling test of the Artemis 1 space launch system (SLS) moon landing rocket on Wednesday local time to verify whether the mission team's solution to the hydrogen fuel leak is effective. If all goes well, the SLS rocket could launch as planned on September 27. But if the test progress is blocked, the Artemis 1 mission will need to return to the equipment assembly building for more overhauls.

Artemis 1 was the first mission of NASA's Artemis moon landing program, using the giant rocket SLS to send the Orion capsule into lunar orbit and return to Earth. NASA had planned to launch the Artemis 1 mission on August 29 this year, but the launch plan was thwarted twice due to technical problems with the rocket. The rocket remains on launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in NASA, Florida.

The second technical failure of the rocket was due to a leak of liquid hydrogen propellant. The task team found that this was caused by the failure to seal the quick disconnect device connecting the SLS core level to the Artemis 1 mobile launch tower fuel tube. Earlier this month, technicians replaced two seals on the quick disconnect device, which may have solved the problem.

Fuel refueling tests on Wednesday will verify the effectiveness of the solution. At that time, the Artemis 1 team plans to pump liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the SLS rocket. The operation is scheduled to begin at 7: 15 a.m. et on Wednesday. NASA officials said on September 16th that "it will end when the test goals are met".

NASA executives in charge of the Artemis mission will also discuss the refueling test to be carried out on Wednesday in the morning local time.

If the Artemis 1 mission is not in time for the September 27 launch window, there will be a backup launch window on October 2.

On August 16, the SLS rocket carrying the Artemis 1 mission moved from the huge equipment Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center to launch Pad 39B. If Wednesday's fuel test is blocked, the SLS rocket and Orion capsule may need to be sent back to the equipment assembly building for more repairs.

The Artemis 1 spacecraft may have to return to the equipment assembly building for another reason. When the rocket deviates from its course during launch, the mission's flight termination system destroys the rocket, and the certification period for the entire system is currently only 25 days. It has been more than 25 days since the SLS rocket was sent to the launch pad, and NASA needs to be exempted by the US Space Force in order for the Artemis 1 mission to launch normally.

NASA has already received an exemption to extend the system certification period from 20 days to 25 days, and is now asking the US Space Force to send another one. If the second exemption application is denied, the Artemis 1 mission must return to the equipment assembly building to re-certify the flight termination system.

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