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For the second time this week, NASA is dealing with a liquid hydrogen leak on the Artemis I rocket. Initially scheduled to launch on Monday, it is now expected to launch Saturday afternoon, with a window between 2:17 and 4:17 pm.
The preparations for launch were delayed by at least 30 minutes after the new hydrogen leak, which is in a different place on the rocket than Monday’s leak, was detected at 7:15 local time this morning.
NASA warmed up the hydrogen fuel line in an attempt to remake a tight seal and get hydrogen flowing into the rocket again. Oxygen and hydrogen need to be in the rocket’s engines in certain proportions in order to launch correctly.
The engineers shut off the liquid hydrogen, “close the valve used to fill and drain it, then increase pressure on a ground transfer line using helium to try to reseal it,” according to CNN.
As of 9:36 a.m, the hydrogen leak had twice reoccurred after two attempts at fixing the issue. The latest leak is “a cavity between the ground and flight side plates of a quick disconnect in the engine section,” according to NASA’s live blog of the Artemis I launch.
The continuing hydrogen issue leaves the team two hours behind schedule in preparing the rocket; it is possible that the Saturday launch is scuppered outright.
The Artemis I rocket is planned to be the tip of the spear of a new American moon program, one that eventually aims to maintain a presence on the moon. This first mission, however, is unmanned.
“If the mission launches on Saturday, it will go on a journey around the moon and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on October 11. There is still a backup opportunity for the Artemis I mission to launch on September 5 as well,” according to CNN.
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