KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — On Wednesday, NASA is planning to fully load the Artemis I’s Space Launch System rocket with about 730,000 gallons of propellant to test two seals that were replaced after a liquid hydrogen leak scrubbed the second launch attempt.
NASA plans to begin loading the supercold fuel at around 7 a.m.
Fueling the rocket has proved difficult for the launch teams that had to scrub liftoff attempts twice due to leaks on the liquid hydrogen side of tanking operations.
NASA officials have replaced two seals of the fuel lines running from the mobile launcher into the Space Launch System rocket.
NASA will also conduct a kick-start bleed test during which some of the liquid hydrogen is used to cool the rocket’s four RS-25 engines, where temperatures drop to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit.
During both launch attempts, issues plagued the Artemis I mission. The first attempt in August saw a liquid hydrogen leak and temperature issues with the engines.
Then in the second launch attempt in early September, two seals were damaged, causing a different liquid hydrogen leak.
NASA is also seeking a waiver for a battery check of the rocket’s flight termination system from Space Launch Delta 45.
The existing agreement only allowed a 25-day window to launch, however, NASA rolled out from the Vehicle Assembly Building on Aug. 16 to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center.
If approved to launch on the new target date of Sept. 27, it would be 42 days since the abort system batteries were checked, nearly double the time the agreement allowed.
