View bigger. | The nuclear stage for the maiden flight of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket is seen in the B-2 Test Stand during a hot fire test on January 16, 2021 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Image via NASA.
A planned eight-minute test of the four engines of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) – a megarocket more powerful than the Saturn V that propelled the Apollo astronauts to the moon – did not go as planned on Saturday, January 16, 2021. The test was conducted at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The rocket is intended to launch the next man and first woman on a return to the moon by 2024 in NASA’s Artemis program. The four engines on the booster stage should fire for the eight minutes they would need during an actual launch. Instead, the engines only struck for about a minute.
NASA said in a statement:
The team successfully completed the countdown and turned on the engines, but the engines stopped in the hot fire for just over a minute. Teams review the data to determine the cause of the early shutdown and determine a path forward.
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, who attended the test, said:
Saturday’s test was an important step forward in ensuring that the core phase of the SLS missile is ready for the Artemis 1 mission [an uncrewed test mission whose launch had been planned for later this year], and to transport the crew on future missions. Although the engines didn’t stall all the time, the team successfully worked through the countdown, lit the engines, and gathered valuable data to inform our path forward.
Read more from NASA about the specifics of the January 16 test of NASA’s SLS megarocket
“I want people to be encouraged because the future looks very bright, and we will certainly learn a lot from this test.” – Administrator @JimBridenstine reflects on today’s hot fire of the @NASA_SLS missile core stage. pic.twitter.com/vYfpxr56nG
– NASA (@NASA) January 17, 2021
.@NASA_SLS program manager John Honeycutt provides a summary of today’s missile nuclear test @NASAStennis: pic.twitter.com/RwpFwoiEli
– NASA (@NASA) January 17, 2021
“The test item behind us is also the flight hardware that Orion will launch to the moon. This is unique. […] This article made the right decision to shut itself down. “- Administrator @JimBridenstine to today @NASA_SLS core stage test. pic.twitter.com/hv7mRx7gAn
– NASA (@NASA) January 17, 2021
The January 16 test – a so-called hot-fire test – was meant to be the culmination of a series of tests for the SLS megarocket. Originally scheduled for early to mid-November 2020, this latest test was needed to keep the schedule on track for the launch of the missile on the unmanned Artemis 1 mission in mid to late 2021 and, ultimately, for the final manned launch to the moon in 2024.
Although the SLS test series began with a successful modal test – a type of vibration testing – conducted in January 2020, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic slowed the testing process. On-site work at Stennis was halted by NASA leadership in March 2020, around the same time many in the US began working from home because of the pandemic. The center began to slowly reopen in mid-May and the second SLS test was completed at the end of June on the nuclear stage (the missile’s orange ‘body’).
That test ensured that the software and other electrical interfaces involved in the missile and test rig are working properly.
View bigger. | In the January 16, 2021 test, the 4 RS-25 engines caught fire for just over a minute, generating 1.6 million pounds of thrust. Image via NASA.
The missile has since gone through the following four steps of what is called the “green run” series:
– Test 3, where engineers inspected all safety systems that shut down operations during testing. During this test they simulated possible problems.
– Test 4, the first test of each of the major propulsion system components connected to the engines. Command and control activities were verified and the core phase was checked for liquid or gas leaks.
– Test 5, in which engineers ensured that the thrust vector control system could move the four engines and check all associated hydraulic systems.
– Test 6, simulating the launch countdown, including step-by-step refueling procedures. Core stage avionics were engaged and propellant loading and pressurization simulated. The testing team rehearsed and validated the timeline and sequence of events.
The Hot Fire is the final test of the Green Run test series, a comprehensive review of the Space Launch System’s core phase before the Artemis I mission is launched to the moon. Image via NASA.
After the January 16 hot fire test, engineers planned to refurbish and configure the core stage for its trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where more tests await the core stage.
With Biden’s administration taking office on January 20, 2021 and the January 16 test failing, the schedule for the Artemis program is uncertain.
Read more: How is the US space program under President Joe Biden?
This image illustrates what the 8 parts of the green run are for testing, as well as the individual components of the SLS Core Stage (orange rocket body). Image via NASA.
In short, the failure of NASA’s SLS megarocket hot-fire test on January 16, 2021 is a clear setback for NASA’s Artemis program. The first launch in the program – an unmanned mission called Artemis 1 – was set to begin in late 2021. The program aimed to bring the next man and first woman back to the moon by 2024. That goal now seems unlikely.
Via NASA
