Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, 'Out There,' was published on Nov. 13, 2018.
Launches & SpacecraftNASA just fueled up its Artemis 2 moon rocket in 2nd critical test. Was it a success? The Artemis 1 moon mission had a heat shield issue. Here’s why NASA doesn’t think it will happen again on Artemis 2Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsSign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space movies, tv shows, games and books.
Discover this week's must-see night sky events, moon phases, and stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us!Space.com's Sci-Fi Reader's Club. Read a sci-fi short story every month and join a virtual community of fellow science fiction fans!NASA has repaired its Artemis 2 rocket, apparently keeping things on track for a possible April launch of the first crewed moon mission in more than 50 years.and spacecraft will continue in the coming weeks as NASA prepares for rolling the rocket out to the launch pad again later this month ahead of a potential launch in April," NASA wrote in the update. NASA's Artemis 2 moon rocket has a problem and it's leaving the launch pad. Don't expect a moonshot in MarchNASA to roll out rocket for Artemis 2 moon mission on Jan. 17crew capsule have been in the VAB since Feb. 25, when they rolled back to the hangar from KSC's Launch Pad 39B. Just a few days earlier, the Artemis 2 stack successfully completed a wet dress rehearsal, a two-day-long practice run of the procedures leading up to launch.in the SLS' upper stage. That was a significant issue, because helium pressurizes the rocket's propellant tanks. Rollback was the only option, as the affected area in the upper stage was not accessible at the pad. The problem took a potential March launch out of play for Artemis 2, which will send four astronauts on a roughly 10-day flight aroundContact me with news and offers from other Future brandsThe next Artemis 2 launch window opens in April, with liftoff opportunities on April 1, April 3-6 and April 30. And those options apparently remain in play, thanks to recent work in the VAB. That work centered on a seal in an interface through which helium flows from ground equipment into the SLS upper stage. That seal was obstructing the interface, which is known as a quick disconnect. "The team removed the quick disconnect, reassembled the system, and began validating the repairs to the upper stage by running a reduced flow rate of helium through the mechanism to ensure the issue was resolved," NASA officials wrote in Tuesday's update."Engineers are assessing what allowed the seal to become dislodged to prevent the issue from recurring." The Artemis 2 team is using its VAB time in other ways as well. For example, technicians are replacing flight batteries on the SLS' core stage, upper stage and solid rocket boosters and charging Orion's emergency-abort batteries. They're also"activating a new set of flight termination system batteries ahead of end-to-end retesting of the system," NASA officials wrote.. For example, Artemis 3 will no longer be the first mission in the program to land astronauts on the moon;will stay in Earth orbit and feature a rendezvous between Orion and one or both of the private moon landers that NASA has contracted for the Artemis program. and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life,"Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.NASA will fuel up its Artemis 2 moon rocket for the 2nd time on Feb. 19. Will it leak again?
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