NASA’s new moon rocket suffered another dangerous leak Saturday as the launch team began refueling for takeoff on a test flight that must go well before astronauts board.
For the second time this week, the launch team began loading nearly a million gallons of fuel into the 98-foot rocket, the most powerful ever built by NASA. Monday’s attempt was halted by a faulty engine sensor and a fuel leak.
An overpressure alarm sounded and the loading operation was briefly interrupted, but no damage was done and efforts were resumed. However, a few minutes later, hydrogen fuel began leaking from the engine compartment at the bottom of the rocket. NASA halted the operation while engineers tried to plug what was believed to be a crack around a seal in the supply line.
The countdown clocks continued to tick into the afternoon; NASA had two hours on Saturday to launch the rocket.
Forecasts called for generally favorable weather at Kennedy Space Center, especially at the end of the two-hour afternoon launch window.
On Monday, hydrogen fuel leaked from another part of the rocket. Technicians fixed the fixtures over the past week, but launch manager Charlie Blackwell-Thompson stressed she wouldn’t know if everything was set up properly until Saturday’s power-up.
On Monday, a sensor indicated that one of the rocket’s four engines was too hot, but engineers later verified that it was actually quite cold. The launch team planned to ignore the damaged sensor this time and rely on other instruments to make sure each main engine was properly cooled.
See also
During refueling #Artemis Mission I, a leak developed on the supply side of the 8-inch quick-detach during the attempt to transfer fuel to the rocket. Attempts to fix it have so far been unsuccessful. Stay for updates. https://t.co/6LVDrA1toy
— NASA (@NASA) September 3, 2022
