Days after it backed down due to engine issues, Nasa is set to re-attempt launching its Space Launch System (SLS) on its maiden journey to the Moon on Saturday. The rocket will launch with the Orion spacecraft on top on its first voyage aiming to set the stage for humans to reach the lunar surface in the future.
The spacecraft will lift off from launchpad 39B at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The launch is scheduled for 11: 45 pm IST.
“Since the previous launch attempt on Monday, August 29, teams have updated procedures, practiced operations, and refined timelines,” Nasa said in a statement.
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GO FOR LAUNCH
Days after the launch was cancelled, the American space agency gave its go-ahead to launch on Saturday.
“Meteorologists with the US Space Force Space Launch Delta 45 predict 60% favorable weather conditions, improving throughout the window for Saturday,” the agency said in an update.
The Artemis-1 will launch to the Moon, going as far as 60,000 kilometer ahead. (Photo: Nasa)
The space agency has a two-hour window to launch the rocket and put it on a course to the Moon. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said he’s more confident going into this second launch attempt, given everything engineers learned from the first try.
WHAT HAPPENED DURING FIRST ATTEMPT?
The inaugural flight of the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket — the most powerful ever built by NASA — was delayed late in the countdown Monday.
The engineers in charge of the Space Launch System rocket insisted Thursday evening that all four of the rocket’s main engines were good and that a faulty temperature sensor caused one of them to appear as though it were too warm on Monday.
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“Over the last day, teams worked to fix a leak on the tail service mast umbilical by replacing a flex-hose and a loose pressure sensor line, as the likely source of the leak. Teams also retorqued, or tightened, the bolts surrounding that enclosure to ensure a tight seal when introducing the super-cooled propellants through those lines. While there was no leak detected at ambient temperatures, teams will continue to monitor during tanking operations,” Nasa said.
Meanwhile, the agency will also adjust the procedures to chill down the en