Fuel leak disrupts NASA’s 2nd shot at launching moon rocket

[Gefn]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s new moon rocket sprang another hazardous leak Saturday, as the launch team began fueling it for liftoff on a test flight that must go well before astronauts climb aboard.

For the second time this week, the launch team began loading nearly 1 million gallons of fuel into the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket, the most powerful ever built by NASA. Monday’s attempt was halted by a bad engine sensor and leaking fuel.

As the sun rose, an over-pressure alarm sounded and the tanking operation was briefly halted, but no damage occurred and the effort resumed. But minutes later, hydrogen fuel began leaking from the engine section at the bottom of the rocket. NASA halted the operation, while engineers scrambled to plug what was believed to be a gap around a seal in the supply line.

The countdown clocks continued ticking toward an afternoon liftoff; NASA had two hours Saturday to get the rocket off.


https://apnews.com/article/astronomy-space-launches-exploration-science-9a89bb77af17be3e3b5891a0b224ac69

[Elderberry]

NASA delays Artemis I’s launch for a second time

A hydrogen leak caused another delay

By Mitchell Clark Sep 3, 2022, 11:19am EDT

https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/3/23327972/nasa-artemis-i-sls-second-delay

NASA has once again scrubbed the launch of its Space Launch System (or SLS) rocket after engineers failed to fix a persistent hydrogen leak.

The hydrogen leak was first noticed this morning, soon after the rocket began being fueled with liquid hydrogen. The team made three troubleshooting attempts, but a leak was detected after each effort to fix the problem. After the third time, engineers recommended that the launch be a ‘no go’.

The SLS is meant to be one of the workhorses of NASA’s Artemis program, and is tasked with launching the Orion crew capsule that will hopefully ferry astronauts to the moon.

The agency also scrubbed the previous launch attempt of the SLS, which was supposed to happen on August 29th, citing issues with the engine bleed system meant to help the engines get to a proper temperature before takeoff. A hydrogen leak was also detected during that launch attempt.

NASA has another launch window left — from 5:12 PM to 6:42 PM on September 5th — before it faces a major delay. The flight termination system that’s meant to keep the rocket from becoming a dangerous missile if something goes very wrong during launch needs to be re-tested relatively frequently (it’s supposed to be every 20 days, but NASA got that extended to 25 days), and that testing can’t be done on the launch pad.

More at link.