NASA's Artemis moon rocket makes it through critical fueling test despite hydrogen leak

NASA's leak-plagued Space Launch System moon rocket ran into initially worrisome problems during a fueling test Wednesday, but engineers"managed" a fresh leak in a fitting that and were able to fill the huge booster with a full load of 750,000 gallons of supercold propellants.

NASA's Space Launch System mega rocket atop pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday. Engineers carried out a full-scale fueling test to verify repairs to fix a hydrogen leak that derailed a September 3 launch try, yet another leak cropped up in the same system. This time around, engineers were able to use different flow rates and pressures to fully fuel the giant rocket.

The batteries cannot be accessed at the launch pad and without a waiver, NASA will be forced to haul the 332-foot-tall SLS rocket back to the Kennedy Space Center's iconic Vehicle Assembly Building, delaying launch for a month or more. Liquid oxygen and hydrogen propellants flow into the Space Launch System's huge core stage through retractable 8-inch-wide lines that extend from two so-called tail service mast umbilicals to quick-disconnect fittings attached to the side of the booster. A leak in the hydrogen fitting caused initial problems during a fueling test Wednesday, but engineers were able to re-seat a suspect seal and successfully load the rocket with propellants.

Oxygen vapor billows from vents in the side of the Space Launch System rocket as propellants were loaded into the booster's upper stage.The repair work was completed last week and the test began normally enough Wednesday, with oxygen and hydrogen flowing into separate core stage tanks at low rates. In an effort to ease the thermal shock when transitioning to"fast fill" mode, the loading sequence was slowed down and flow rates reduced to ease stresses on the hardware.

I hope!!

Absolutely embarrassing how long this rocket, which is comprised largely of decades old tech, has taken to develop and test.

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