A problem has come up with an engine bleed on 1 engine so the countdown has been frozen at 40mins on the live link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21X5lGlDOfg

Will it get off the ground?

Cheers.

The launch of Artemis 1 has been scrubbed for today. An engine coolant issue could not be resolved within the two-hour launch window. The next launch window is on Friday, Sept. 2nd from 12:48 to 2:48 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (9:48--11:48 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time; 4:48--6:48 p.m. Universal Time).

Engine #3 wasn't cooling down to the correct temperature for safe engine start. Wise move to scrub as it sounded as if they'd tried all the remote fixes to no avail. Next few hours they're going to do some tests with the tanks loaded, then unload so they can fix the problem. (My guess - stuck valve or damaged pipework????????)

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Agreed:

My best guess is another of those modern day sticky valves...

Has the main contractor there (well known and notorious for sticky valves on another NASA contract) gone too cheap or otherwise installed a bad batch of valves?...


Here's hoping for full success on Friday!

Happy flying!
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

The launch of Artemis 1 has been rescheduled for Saturday, September 2nd, within a two hour launch window, starting at 2:17 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (11:17 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time; 6:17 p.m. Universal Time.)

They now believe that a temperature sensor on the rocket engine may be defective. This could have caused the engine to read too hot, even though it wasn't. Replacing the sensor would involve removing the entire vehicle from the launch pad. They wish to avoid this, so will try starting the engine cooling process 30 to 45 minutes earlier than usual on Saturday. It is hoped that this will make all the engines read cold enough for launch, by the appointed time.

There is currently a predicted 60 percent chance of the Saturday launch being scrubbed, due to deteriorating weather.

I only live about 45 miles from the launch pad but I haven't decided whether I want to go over and watch the launch up close. I really can't afford the gas it will take to get there. I may wait for the first manned launch.

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Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.

This was posted about 40 minutes ago...
Reoccurrence of Liquid Hydrogen Leak Detected

A liquid hydrogen leak has reoccurred again in a cavity between the ground and flight side plates of a quick disconnect in the engine section. Teams are discussing additional troubleshooting efforts.

September 3, 2022 10:28 am EDT
Liquid Hydrogen Leak Detected Once Again

After the third troubleshooting attempt, the liquid hydrogen leak has occurred again. Teams are discussing next steps.

After encountering continuing hydrogen leaks, the launch team has now recommended a 'no-go' for today's launch of Artemis 1. A response from Mission Control is being awaited. It is assumed that they will concur, and officially scrub the launch. They next launch window is on Monday, September 5th.

Added-- Today's launch has now been scrubbed. Next Monday's launch window is at 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. (2:15--4:15 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time; 22:12 -- 00:12 GMT/UT).

There is an additional launch window on Tuesday, September 6th, but it is only 30 minutes in length, and may not be considered.

Failing either of those options, Artemis 1 will have timed out its current readiness cycle and will have to be slowly hauled the four miles back to the vertical assembly building for routine refurbishment.

This will push the launch of Artemis 1 back to late September, or even into October.

Sadly you saved some gas as the launch was scrubbed after three attempts to get an 8 inch bull-nose coupling to stop spewing liquid hydrogen. A real pain in the chair polisher. From my experience those couplings are really good if they go together properly, but if they don't then they need to be striped out, cleaned, mating surfaces refitted and then the coupling reassembled. Not a five minute job, particularly on couplers of that sort of size. It would be great if they could do it overnight to hit tomorrow's window, but I have my doubts given the access route to get to it - who knows how many other pipes and couplers have to be disturbed to get in to do the job.

[edit to add] I'd really like it if they had a camera on the access panel which is on the far side in most of the shots.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

1 has to wonder if it'll ever get off the ground or if it'll all finish in 1 big bang.

Further attempts to launch Artemis 1 on September 5th , or 6th have been ruled out. There is some talk of launching on the 19th, but that would require a waiving of the normal maintenance cycle, and keeping Artemis 1 on the launch pad, until then. It seems unlikely that this will happen.

There are a number of launch windows available, between September 16th and October 4th, and again between October 17th and 31st.

In any case, it's not clear how long it will take to find a permanent solution to the hydrogen leak problem. There is nothing extraordinary about having to return Artemis 1 to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The Space Shuttle was trundled back and forth like this a full 20 times before it was first launched.

I remember back before the first shuttle launch I went over to the Cape to watch and it took at least three attempts to get it off the pad. Every time I went it was during work hours and I took vacation time to go. I was getting really frustrated driving 40 minutes and finding a spot to watch only to find out some problem had caused a scrub. NASA has some pretty strict rules so stuff like this is bound to happen with a new system.

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Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.

Well........
It looks probable that Artemis is going to go back into the shed to fix the leak - I sort of expected that from my personal previous experience of the type of fittings used :-(

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62758482

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

For an excellent interview with some very good insightful comments and first hand experiences, see:


NSF Live: Wayne Hale, on Shuttle’s History and SLS’s Future
wrote:

... special guest Wayne Hale (former flight director and Space Shuttle program manager).

After the introductions, the stories and details get interesting!...

Very well put together and well presented and quite a story...

As for learning from STS for SLS... See for yourselves...


Enjoy!
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

The delays continue.

Launch of Artemis 1 moon rocket delayed to Sept. 27 at the earliest.

Or maybe October 2.

Whenever they finally try again, I will be watching from in front of my TV and/or my front yard. I won't be driving over to the coast to see it up close and personal. I most likely will be going over for the first manned launch.

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Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.

Today's test-fueling of the Artemis 1 rocket resulted in a leak very similar to the one that was supposed to have been repaired. They ceased filling the rocket with hydrogen at that time.

They have purged the line leading to the leak with helium, and let it warm, hoping that this will allow the leaking connection to reseat, and stop the leak. Moments ago, they resumed filling the rocket with hydrogen.

The leak occurred at the point where the fuel line connects to the rocket. The leak started when they switched from slow filling, intended to gradually cool the line, to fast filling, which is where and when the leak occurred during the last fueling attempt on September 3rd.

Should the leak be resolved today, the next launch opportunity is on Tuesday, September 27th. This is subject to approval of a waiver from the Air Force group which controls the use of Cape Canaveral.

The safety systems on Artemis, which would prevent it falling on land, in the event of a rocket failure, are past their current readiness cycle. If these are deemed to require the indicated inspection and servicing, the entire Artemis rocket would have to make the slow, four-mile journey, back to the vehicle assembly building. This would, of course, delay the launch considerably.

They've resumed LH2 filing, albeit initially at a reduced rate and a slower rate increase

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

The Artemis' hydrogen leak problem was markedly reduced by the fuel line purge and warming measures yesterday. It stood at 0.5 percent, well within the 4 percent upper limit to avoid flammability. In any case, this leak was confined to the interior of the connector between the fueling line, and the rocket.The rocket was eventually fully fueled and pressurized to the level required for launch. The September 27th launch date looks more and more likely.

It's now believed that the leak on September 3rd was caused by inadvertent over-pressure during the fueling process. Fueling procedures have been modified to make this less likely to recur. If the launch occurs on the 27th, it will happen during a 70-minute-wide window, starting at 11:37 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (8:37 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time; 15:37 Universal Time/Greenwich Mean Time.