Saturday, September 3, NASA called off the SLS takeoff once again. Should we talk about failure or failure of the launch, as has been said and written so much in the media. of course not. Here’s why.
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[EN VIDÉO] See what Artemis mission launch would look like At the end of 2021, NASA’s new SLS (Space Launch System) heavy launcher will launch the first Artemis I mission to the Moon. This is what her first flight will look like.
Surprisingly, many media outlets described a failure in Artemis I release reports. The analysis surprises us. Are we talking about failure when, for more than two years, SpaceX Announces that the future spacecraft will conduct a test flight in 6 months? Of course not. the same for me Ariadne 6 Which is still not ready to fly even though its maiden flight was scheduled for July 2020.
Artemis I, who does not take off despite two attempts, is clearly not a failure for NASA and its industrial partners. It would be considered a failure if the trigger flew away and exploded, if Orion vehicle Failed to join the moon Or crash on its surface, and if it fails to return to Earth safely. It is clear that all other adventures cannot be considered a failure. These are incidents, admittedly somewhat limiting, that are inherent in any program under development or in the qualification phase.
On August 29, NASA had to cancel the flight after several flights technical problems And when one of the four RS-25 engines in the main stage failed to reach the proper firing temperature. September 3 fuel leak It happened while the launch tanks were being filled, causing NASA to suspend the procedure and then cancel the launch.
natural ignition delay
Although SLS is built on elaborate technologies inherited from previous software, including These are from the space shuttle And the Saturn V for example, this launcher is still new. Thus, these ignition delays are not very surprising but rather common for newer launchers. This first assignment for Artemis is above all an illustrative journey. He must not only qualify the operator but also prove the ability of the vehicle Orion and its ESM service module to operate in a variety of flight configurations.
Since the last Apollo moon landing mission in December 1972, we’ve been waiting for humans to return to the moon for nearly 50 years. We are only a few years away!
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