Artemis I Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson has confirmed all targets have been met for the cryogenic demonstration check, and groups are actually continuing with essential safing actions and preparations for draining the rocket’s tanks. After encountering a hydrogen leak in a cavity within the tail service mast umbilical early within the loading course of, engineers had been in a position to troubleshoot the problem and proceed with the deliberate actions.
The 4 important targets for the cryogenic demonstration included assessing the restore to deal with the hydrogen leak recognized on the earlier launch try, loading propellants into the rocket’s tanks utilizing new procedures, conducting the kick-start bleed, and performing a pre-pressurization check.
The new cryogenic loading procedures and floor automation had been designed to transition temperature and pressures slowly throughout tanking to cut back the chance of leaks that might be attributable to speedy modifications in temperature or strain. After encountering the leak early within the operation, groups additional diminished loading pressures to troubleshoot the problem and proceed with the demonstration check. The pre-pressurization check enabled engineers to calibrate the settings used for conditioning the engines throughout the terminal depend and validate timelines earlier than launch day to cut back schedule danger throughout the countdown on launch day.
Teams will assess the information from the check, together with the climate and different components, earlier than confirming readiness to proceed into the subsequent launch alternative. The SLS rocket remains in a safe configuration as teams evaluate the next steps.
Artemis I is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions. It will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.