NASA deleted Artemis II for launch following a lengthy flight-readiness review, mission managers said Thursday, as teams work toward an April 1 liftoff.
The new timeline follows the discovery of the helium-flow problem in mega moon rocketThe highest stage that requires teams to be put the car back in its main hangar for repairs. After replacing the seals and self-testing, as well as replacing some batteries, the flight attendants said they were ready to fly.
So it’s a dead set space The agency launched next month and its management refused to provide it open the windows more than April 30.
“I’ve said in the past that, yes, there are opportunities in other months,” said Lori Glaze, acting director of pilot program development, on Thursday, “but right now, we’re only focused on April.”
Airworthiness reviews serve as a final, agency-level assessment of hardware, teams, and systems prior to Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft returns to the launch pad. “Going to vote” means the agency is free to send astronauts Reid WisemanVictor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen on a 10 day flight around the monththe first manned deep space mission in more than 50 years.
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Mission managers said they expect to launch the packed rocket 322 meters back to its launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, next week on March 19.
Engineers identified and repaired a blocked helium seal on the bottom line. The problem caught the teams by surprise after a nearly identical fuel test in late February. NASA tested the redesigned connector and installed a modified part on the upper stage. The teams also replaced the flight termination system batteries and tested the crew module system batteries.
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NASA said it is still on track to try to take off as early as April 1, when the launch window opens at 6:24 pm ET. Backup dates are available from April 2nd to 6th. The crew will go into isolation before the launch on March 18 and travel to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida about five days before the launch, as part of standard procedures to protect the health of the crew and their readiness.
During the press conference, NASA officials had a heated exchange with reporters about the possibility of a mission failure or loss of workers. When pressed for a single risk number, plant managers buckled down, offering difficult historical comparisons. Test flights often face high uncertainty, said John Honeycutt, chairman of the Artemis II mission management team.
When asked about it again, NASA president Rachel Kraft refused to let the panel answer.
“We have answered the risk question many times,” he said. “We have many more questions to answer.”
From left, astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Jeremy Hansen will be the first crew to fly into deep space since Apollo 17 nearly a century ago.
Credit: NASA / Joel Kowsky
Work remains on the Auto Assembly Building. Teams will complete the evacuation, remove the access platforms, and secure the hardware to return to the pad.
NASA doesn’t plan to have one practicing a wet suitthe practice of starting a countdown to the real fuel, which can be time consuming in the April launch window. Instead, the agency aims to fill the rocket in the day leading up to the launch.
The airworthiness review, while a major accomplishment for any campaign, was “just a step along the way,” Honeycutt said.
“We can’t celebrate until we get Reid and Victor and Christina and Jeremy home safely,” he said.
