NASA Pushes Back Artemis I Mega Moon Rocket Test Yet Again Due To More Technical Difficulties

Due to a problem with a panel on the mobile launcher, NASA canceled the wet dress rehearsal of its Artemis I moon rocket on Monday.

NASA has had to put its wet dress rehearsal on hold for the second time due to a problem with the mobile launcher. On Monday, the space agency tweeted, "This is why we test."

NASA needs the wet dress rehearsal to test out virtually every system leading up to the launch of its big moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), without actually launching the spacecraft. It's the final test the rocket must pass before going to the moon in mid-2022.

NASA’s Moon Rocket Keeps on Rolling to Launch Complex 39B

(Photo : NASA)
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with the Orion capsule atop, slowly rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 17, 2022, on its journey to Launch Complex 39B. Carried atop the crawler-transporter 2, NASA’s Moon rocket is venturing out to the launch pad for a wet dress rehearsal ahead of the uncrewed Artemis I launch.

NASA Postpones Artemis I Mega Rocket Wet Dress Rehearsal Yet Again

NASA reported Monday that the rehearsal had been halted due to a vent valve malfunction and other issues.

The space agency said on Twitter, "Due [to] the vent valve issue, the launch director has called off the test for the day. The team is preparing to offload LOX and will begin discussing how quickly the vehicle can be turned around for the next attempt. A lot of great learning and progress today."

We are “go” for tanking. @NASAKennedy teams will soon begin loading the @NASA_SLS rocket with fuel and conduct leak checks to make sure the tanking is proceeding as expected. Follow @NASAGroundSys for real-time updates: https://t.co/vNGEnCnOCv pic.twitter.com/I3ui1QUBgc
— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) April 4, 2022

Science Times previously reported that the space agency delayed the rocket test on Sunday after it was struck by lightning four times during a violent rainstorm at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday. However, the fan problem that caused the delay on Sunday was not considered to be related to the storm.

When the fully integrated Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule tanking test at KSC's Launch Pad 39-B couldn't maintain the mobile launcher on which the gear sits securely pressurized, NASA officials called it a day.

That problem was resolved overnight, Orlando Sentinel said. But Monday's redo attempt fell short of its target of loading and draining 730,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the rocket's core and upper stages.

ALSO READ: NASA Finally Rolls Out Space Launch System Rocket Ahead of Artemis 1 Mission [LOOK]

NASA crews were able to work past many obstacles Monday to load the liquid oxygen (LOX) but were finally blocked by a vent valve that delivered pressure to the rocket's core stage, which was also housed on the mobile launcher.

Already, the weekend postponement had set off a chain reaction, pushing the Axiom Space civilian launch to the International Space Station no early than Friday.

However, that mission, which is crammed in between NASA's Artemis tanking test and SpaceX's scheduled crew rotation flight for NASA later this month, may have trouble meeting its launch deadlines.

It's now slated for Friday at 11:17 a.m., but that might change if Artemis management, who has precedence at KSC, prepares for another tanking test.

What to Expect From This Mission

CNN said this mission will officially off NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon by 2025, with the first woman and person of color landing on the lunar surface.

The uncrewed Orion spacecraft will launch atop the SLS rocket to reach the moon and travel hundreds of miles beyond it during the trip, further than any spacecraft meant to carry humans.

This mission will span a few weeks, with Orion splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at the conclusion.

Artemis I will serve as Orion's final testbed before the spaceship transports men to the moon, which is 1,000 times further away from Earth than the International Space Station.

Artemis II will be a crewed flyby of the moon, while Artemis III will return astronauts to the lunar surface after the uncrewed Artemis I trip. The launch schedule for the following missions is determined by the outcomes of the Artemis I mission.