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Despite a new valve issue, NASA says it is ready to take the next step of testing the mega-socket that will send the unequipped Artemis 1 mission to the moon in November.
Initially, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket performed well in the green run series of tests this fall. That said, equipment issues on the ground delayed the final “wet dress rehearsal” procedures until the end of December, when NASA attempted to fill the center stage with fuel.
The agency and subcontractor Boeing, which builds the main stage of the rocket, made another attempt last month and a new problem arose during the next test attempt on December 20, NASA said in a report. blog post Tuesday January 5th. But a fix has been implemented that should take everyone to the next stage of testing – a “burning fire,” which will occur no earlier than Jan. 17, NASA officials said in the post. blog.
“The end of [Dec. 20] The test was automatically stopped a few minutes earlier due to the timing of a valve closing, “NASA added.” Subsequent analysis of the data determined that the intended valve shutdown was disabled for a fraction of a second and that the hardware, software, and scene controller performed correctly to stop the test. The team has corrected the timing and is ready to proceed to the final test of the Green Run series. “
Video: NASA’s SLS rocket main stage to be tested soon
Related: NASA’s megarocket SLS ‘hot fire’ test delayed after power test shutdown prematurely
In the same statement, Julie Bassler, head of SLS scenes at NASA, added that other parts of the testing went as planned, including the Green Run software, the main stage and the stage controller. In addition, there was no leak during a two hour period when the rocket tanks were loaded with fuel. “The data from all tests to date has given us the confidence to continue with the hot fire,” added Bassler.
The burning fire will go on to test the four RS-25 engines on the SLS main stage – the same type of engines used on the space shuttle. During the test, the engines will run for up to eight minutes on the test bench at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. If the burning fire goes as planned, NASA and Boeing plan to renovate the main stage and ship it by barge to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for final assembly and launch.
NASA is working hard to have all of its equipment ready to send humans into lunar orbit by 2023 – a mission for which it has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada, to send one of the astronauts from this country around the moon. A crewed lunar landing is then scheduled for another mission in 2024, using some of the “Artemis Team” astronauts that NASA announced last month.
Also in December, the Congressional omnibus spending bill, which gave NASA $ 23.3 billion in fiscal 2021, allocated $ 850 million to the Artemis human landing system, or about a quarter. of NASA’s $ 3.3 billion request. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine warned the National Space Council on December 9, before the spending amount was confirmed, that the full budget request was needed to reach the moon in 2024. “In at the end of the day, if we don’t get $ 3.3 billion, it will be more and more difficult, ”he said at the time.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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