Why The Space Launch System Needs To Launch Soon
The Space Launch System is the rocket meant to return humans to the Moon apart of the Artemis missions. So far it has had a bit of a slow start after continued delays have pushed back the maiden flight quite a few months. However, now more than ever it’s very important that SLS lifts off within the next month or it could face even bigger delays.
Just over a week ago during a media briefing on the 3rd, NASA officials made it clear that core components of the launch vehicle including the boosters are approaching expiration dates in December. While the next generation rocket is scheduled to lift off only days from now on the 16th, if it gets pushed back just a few more times, NASA will need to complete a thorough analysis of some of these necessary components.
Depending on what they find, this could mean immense delays in the future. All of this being said, the agency right now is still preparing for the upcoming launch and is dedicated to getting SLS off the ground. Here I will go more in-depth into the concern around expiring boosters and components, NASA’s final prep for launch, what to expect in the coming weeks, and more.
Expiring Boosters
The Space Launch System has been preparing for this first launch for years now. As we know, its maiden flight apart of Artemis 1 was intended to happen in the summer earlier this year. As the mission continued to run into various complications and delays, the launch date was pushed back further and further. While not ideal, these somewhat frequent delays were not considered a significant setback. However, NASA recently revealed some important information that puts some extra pressure on these upcoming launch attempts.
During a NASA media briefing held earlier this month on the 3rd, NASA officials told reporters that several components of the SLS vehicle’s boosters are approaching their current expiration dates, based on the most recent analyses that team members have conducted. Specifically, Cliff Lanham, senior vehicle operations manager of the Exploration Ground Systems Program at the Kennedy Space Center said, “When you stack your first segment on the aft segment, you start a clock that was originally 12 months. It’s currently been analyzed up to 23 months, and that expires. One piece expires on the ninth of December of this year, and the other one is the 14th of December of this year.” In this quote, he is referring to SLS’s boosters, a substantial and necessary component of the rocket.
Jim Free, the associate administrator of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA pointed out, “If Artemis 1 has not launched by those dates, the mission team would have to conduct further analyses to determine if the expiration dates on the rocket’s various components could be extended.” He continued by saying, “Each of them has a different revisit date — that’s my term — when we have to go back and redo the analysis and look at the assumptions in the analysis. And it’s really more a function of when do we feel like those assumptions are no longer good and the boosters fall into that category. I think I would be doing our team and you a disservice by saying we can just go forever, because I don’t think that’s the case. I think we look at the analysis every time with a different set of lenses thinking about what else could have changed.”
Based on all this information, it’s clear that the longer SLS moves between the pad and the VAB, rather than in space, the more problems that are going to arise. On the bright side, not only are there multiple launch opportunities between now and the end of the November launch period, but the upcoming expiration doesn’t necessarily mean major delays. Either way, if the Space Launch System does not lift off within the next few weeks, we will need to keep an eye on NASA’s decision and exactly what happens with these components.
Final Preparation For Launch
Now that we know more about SLS’s upcoming expiration dates and the concern of new delays, we can take a closer look at the nearing launch date and the final prep NASA is completing. Yesterday Jim Free tweeted saying, “I’m impressed by our #Artemis I team’s dedication – their care for @NASA_SLS and @NASA_Orion is keeping us on track. Designing for this environment is challenging, and our design stood up to the test of the storm. We are pressing toward launch on Nov 16”. Currently, NASA continues to target launch of its Artemis I mission from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:04 a.m. EST, Wednesday, Nov. 16. There is a two-hour launch window for the agency’s first integrated flight test of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft.
Teams conducted thorough assessments at Launch Complex 39B beginning Thursday evening, closely inspecting SLS, Orion, mobile launcher, and other pad-related assets to confirm there were no significant impacts from Hurricane Nicole, which made landfall more than 70 miles south of the launch pad. The physical inspections augmented remote monitoring via sensors and high-resolution cameras performed during the storm by a team in a safe location at Kennedy. In addition, Space Launch System engineers have performed a detailed analysis to confirm the sustained and peak winds experienced during the storm have no adverse effect on the structural strength of the rocket. While varying peak winds were measured by sensors at different heights at the pad, all measurements remained below 75% of SLS design limits, which also are intentionally conservative. Data from testing with actual hardware during the structural test series and modal testing, as well as other evaluations and modeling, provide confidence there is margin beyond the design ratings.
Technicians also are working to fix several minor items from the storm. Most repairs involve loose caulk or weather coverings. An umbilical used to provide purge air, or proper environmental conditions to the Orion spacecraft, was out of position. The umbilical maintained purge throughout the storm and has been repositioned to allow proper retraction at liftoff. Engineers have also removed the hard cover over the launch abort system window installed before the storm and will inspect the window to confirm it is in good condition for launch. Yesterday, as part of normal launch preparation, engineers worked on powering up rocket and spacecraft elements to confirm all systems are healthy. Powered health checks will continue until later today. Engineers plan to conduct the standard final software and hardware-related tests required before launch, on Sunday. The Artemis I mission management team will convene Sunday afternoon to review the preparations for launch.
Just four days from now on the 16th, we can hope that the mission happens and SLS and Orion blast off from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s modernized spaceport at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SLS rocket is designed for missions beyond low-Earth orbit carrying crew or cargo to the Moon and beyond, and will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust during liftoff and ascent to loft a vehicle weighing nearly six million pounds to orbit. Propelled by a pair of five segment boosters and four RS-25 engines, the rocket will reach the period of greatest atmospheric force within ninety seconds. After jettisoning the boosters, service module panels, and launch abort system, the core stage engines will shut down and the core stage will separate from the spacecraft.
From here, as Orion continues on its path from Earth orbit to the Moon, it will be propelled by a service module provided by the European Space Agency, which will supply the spacecraft’s main propulsion system and power (as well as house air and water for astronauts on future missions). Orion will pass through the Van Allen radiation belts, fly past the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite constellation, and above communication satellites in Earth orbit. To talk with mission control in Houston, Orion will switch from NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellites system and communicate through the Deep Space Network. From here, Orion will continue to demonstrate its unique design to navigate, communicate, and operate in a deep space environment. The outbound trip to the Moon will take several days, during which time engineers will evaluate the spacecraft’s systems and, as needed, correct its trajectory. Orion will fly about 62 miles (100 km) above the surface of the Moon, and then use the Moon’s gravitational force to propel Orion into a new deep retrograde, or opposite, orbit about 40,000 miles (70,000 km) from the Moon.
After about four to six weeks and a total distance traveled exceeding 1.3 million miles, the mission will end with a test of Orion’s capability to return safely to the Earth as the spacecraft makes a precision landing within eyesight of the recovery ship off the coast of Baja, California. Following splashdown, Orion will remain powered for a period of time as divers from the U.S. Navy and operations teams from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems approach in small boats from the waiting recovery ship. The divers will briefly inspect the spacecraft for hazards and hook up tending and tow lines, and then engineers will tow the capsule into the well-deck of the recovery ship to bring the spacecraft home.
Conclusion
The Space Launch System is a rocket that is not meant to stay on the ground forever. As delays have continued, the concern now is the upcoming expiration dates of core components such as the boosters. This being said there are multiple launch opportunities between now and then. We will have to wait and see how it progresses and the impact it has on the space industry.