NASA Mission SCRUBBED After Major Issues Arise

Artemis I will not fly as the Kennedy Space Station has discovered engine trouble on the rocket. The Artemis I mission is the first of two slated to prepare for man’s return to the moon.

One of the four engines involved in Artemis I’s space launch system failed to achieve the requisite temperature needed to handle the injection of cold fuel used in their space launch system, according to NASA.

The Artemis Mission Manager, Michael Serafin, stated the reason for the delay during a news conference. The conference was held shortly after NASA announced its decision to scrub the launch:

“We did encounter an issue chilling down engine number 3. We need the engine to be at the cryogenically cooled temperature such that when it starts its not shocked by all the cold fuel that floats through it. So, we needed some extra time to assess that. When the team started working through that they also saw an issue with the vent valve at the inner tank. So, the combination of not being able to get the engine three chilled down and then the vent valve issue that they saw at the inner tank really caused us to pause today, and we felt like we needed a little more time.”

The mission has a second launch window available this Friday at 12:48 PM EST if the issues are resolved.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson spoke briefly about the decision to scrub the mission but stressed that delays are part of the process. Nelson is a veteran of the Vietnam War and the second sitting member of Congress to serve as an astronaut during the space shuttle program.

“This is a brand new rocket. It’s not gonna fly until it’s ready,” he said. “And I would expect that you will see her at a future launch. I want to say that, uh, scrubs are just a part of this program.”

Nelson also spoke on how in the past when he was serving as a payload specialist on Space Shuttle Columbia, mission control had to scrub the mission on four separate occasions. He stated that the mission was delayed for “the better part of a month.”

Artemis I is an unmanned launch. It is designed to stress the Artemis space shuttle-derived launch system in preparation for a second mission, Artemis II. Artemis II is planned to place astronauts in the moon’s orbit. If successful a third mission, Artemis III, is planned to return man to the moon.

NASA says that the ultimate goal of the mission series is for humans to be able to establish a permanent place on the moon. The goal would be with an orbital platform that will serve as a basecamp for launches into deep space and manned missions to mars.

 

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