NASA will proceed with a second launch attempt of Artemis I on Saturday, with the megarocket’s two-hour launch window opening at 2:17 p.m. eastern time. On Monday, the launch was canceled after one of the Space Launch System’s (SLS) four RS-25 engines at the bottom of its main stage failed to reach the proper temperature range for launch. During the first launch attempt, measurements showed that SLS Engine 3 appeared to be up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the desired minus 420 degrees Fahrenheit, according to SLS program manager John Honeycutt. The other three engines went up a bit. Other issues encountered during Monday’s launch window included storms in the area that delayed the start of propellant loading operations, a leak in the quick disconnect on the 8-inch line used to fill and drain liquid hydrogen in the core stage, and a leak of hydrogen from a valve used to vent the propellant from the intermediate core tank. NASA AWARDS 1.43 BILLION CONTRACT SPACEX DOLLARS FOR 5 MORE ASTRONAUT MISSIONS On Thursday, SLS engineers said all four of the rocket’s main engines were fine and that a faulty temperature sensor made Engine 3 appear to be running too hot. Honeycutt said the sensor would be “difficult” to attach to the launch pad and that bringing the SLS back to the Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building could result in weeks of delay. NASA’s New Moon rocket sits on launch pad 39-B minutes after liftoff, Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, at Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara/AP Newsroom) In preparation for Saturday, Artemis program manager Michael Sarafin said the team will change its operating procedure for loading propellant onto the rocket and try to cool the engines about 30 to 45 minutes earlier in the countdown. Even if the suspect temperature sensor indicates that one engine is too hot, you can rely on other sensors to make sure everything is working properly and stop the countdown if there’s a problem, Honeycutt told reporters. The team will also do some work on the launch pad to prevent another leak in the rocket’s hydrogen tail service umbilical. Storm clouds roll in over NASA’s moon rocket as it prepares for launch at Pad 39B for the Artemis 1 mission at the Kennedy Space Center, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The launch is scheduled for the morning of Monday, August 29. (AP Photo/John Raoux/AP Newsroom) US Space Force Space Launch Delta 45 predicts a 60% chance of favorable weather at the beginning of the two-hour launch window and an 80% chance of favorable weather towards the latter part of the window. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS If the launch is successful, SLS’s Orion capsule will travel in space for about six weeks before blasting off into the Pacific Ocean on October 11. Assuming the test goes well, astronauts will board Artemis II and fly around the moon and back as soon as 2024. A two-person landing could follow by the end of 2025. Ticker Security Last change %BA THE BOEING CO. 151.82 -1.84 -1.20%NOC NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP. 476.95 -3.37 -0.70%LMT LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP. 418.57 -4.04 -0.96% SLS and Orion have been in development for more than a decade, with years of delays and costs that totaled at least $37 billion as of last year. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called the Artemis program an “economic engine,” noting that in 2019 alone, for example, it generated $14 billion in commerce and supported 70,000 U.S. jobs. Contractors that have worked on SLS and Orion include Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne. The 322 foot rocket it is the most powerful ever built by NASA, surpassing even the Saturn V that took the Apollo astronauts to the moon. Astronauts last walked on the moon in 1972. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
