NASA has fixed the problem that caused the rocket for the Artemis II mission to be removed from its launch pad last month, but it will be a few weeks before officials are ready to move the vehicle back to the starting blocks at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The 322-foot-tall (98 m) rocket could launch as soon as this week after passing key fuel tests on Feb. 21. During that test, NASA loaded the Space Launch System rocket with super-cold propellant without any major problems, apparently overcoming the persistent hydrogen leak that prevented the mission from launching in early February.
However, just a day after the successful refueling demo, another problem emerged. Ground teams were unable to flow helium into the rocket’s upper stage. Unlike the core stage connections, which workers can repair on the launch pad, the umbilical lines leading to the rocket’s upper stage are accessible only inside the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy.
Mission managers immediately decided to take the rocket back to the assembly building for troubleshooting. The rocket returned to the VAB on February 25 and within a week, engineers found the source of the helium flow problem. According to NASA, inspection revealed that a seal in the quick disconnect, through which helium flows from the ground system to the rocket, was obstructing passage.
seal the deal
“The team removed the quick disconnect, reconnected the system, and began validating the upper stage repair by running a low flow rate of helium through the mechanism to ensure the problem was resolved,” NASA said in an update posted Tuesday. “Engineers are assessing what caused the seal to dislodge to prevent a recurrence of this problem.”
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