If the latest fueling fix works, NASA will set its eyes on Sept. 27 to launch the Space Launch System's Artemis 1 mission.
NASA's Space Launch System is shown venting fuel gases in this file photo on the space agency's website today. NASA will try to demonstrate this week that its fueling problems are fixed and it is ready for another SLS launch attempt.Wednesday will be “Did-It-Work-Day?” if NASA follows through with current plans to test changes to the Space Launch System’s leaky fueling system at its Florida launch pad.
SLS is largely the product of Huntsville’s Marshall Space Flight Center and it’s NASA’s goal to use the behemoth rocket to propel men and the first woman and Black person to land on the moon. The rockets also could be eventually be used on longer missions to Mars. Marshall engineers have been in Florida helping work through the launch issues.
NASA said crews have analyzed the liquid hydrogen fuel line seals between the rocket and the mobile launcher and adjusted fuel loading procedures. “Engineers identified a small indentation found on the eight-inch-diameter liquid hydrogen seal that may have been a contributing factor to the leak on the previous launch attempt,” NASA said Monday.