Problems Delay Launch of NASA's SLS Rocket - Again

With 8.8 million pounds of thrust, NASA's SLS would've been the most powerful rocket ever launched into space, notes the Orlando Sentinel. But instead on Saturday morning, "NASA scrubbed its second attempt to launch the Artemis I mission into lunar orbit..." reports CNET. "During a press conference later in the day, Jim Free, an associate administrator at NASA Headquarters, said we shouldn't expect to see a third attempt within this launch period, which culminates Tuesday." (Though the mission manager the next launch attempt could be as late as mid-October.) "This time, the culprit was a liquid hydrogen leak that showed up while the team was loading the rocket's core stage...."According to the space agency, the leak occurred "while loading the propellant into the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket" and that "multiple troubleshooting efforts to address the area of the leak, by reseating a seal in the quick disconnect where liquid hydrogen is fed into the rocket, did not fix the issue." This is the second time the Artemis I mission has been delayed. Liftoff attempt No. 1 was scheduled for Monday, but launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson had to call a scrub then as well, because of an unyielding problem with what's known as an engine bleed test. (This process is meant to allow the engines to chill to the right temperature by releasing a small amount of the fuel). "We were unable to get the engines within the thermal conditions required to commit to launch," Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin said during a press conference on Tuesday. "In combination with that, we also had a bent valve issue on the core stage, and it was at that point that the team decided to knock off the launch attempt for that day."

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