MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – The wet dress rehearsal of the Artemis I Space Launch System moon rocket was stopped Monday afternoon because of a vent valve issue that could not be handled easily, according to NASA.
NASA tweeted about the issue Monday evening.
“This is why we test. We ended today’s @NASAArtemis “wet dress rehearsal” after encountering a vent valve issue while loading propellant into the @NASA_SLS fuel tank,” the post read.
NASA went into more detail in a news release. According to the space agency, as crews were preparing to load liquid hydrogen into the core stage of the rocket, the teams encountered the vent valve issue. The vent valve is used to relieve pressure from the core stage during tanking, NASA said.
“Given the time to resolve the issue as teams were nearing the end of their shifts, the launch director made the call to stop the test for the day,” the release said.
The space agency said it plans to host a teleconference on the issue Tuesday at 4 p.m.
This is why we test. We ended today’s @NASAArtemis “wet dress rehearsal” after encountering a vent valve issue while loading propellant into the @NASA_SLS fuel tank.
— NASA (@NASA) April 4, 2022
We're investigating, & plan to host a media teleconference Apr. 5 at 4pm ET (20:00 UTC): https://t.co/8p7NRKeHRf pic.twitter.com/uvb7f7tVVA
The test began Friday and was expected to wrap by Sunday, but safety issues put the process on hold over the weekend.
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The team at NASA is now discussing how quickly the vehicle can be turned around for the next test attempt.
Due the vent valve issue, the launch director has called off the test for the day. The team is preparing to offload LOX and will begin discussing how quickly the vehicle can be turned around for the next attempt. A lot of great learning and progress today.-JP
— NASA's Exploration Ground Systems (@NASAGroundSys) April 4, 2022
In a conference call Sunday evening, leaders said technical issues over the weekend halted Sunday’s progress after a supply fan issue.
That’s when leaders say teams were not able to safely pressurize the mobile launcher or add fuel because the fans weren’t working, fearing they could be exposed to hazardous gases.
“The fan issue is what was the cause today,” said launch director Charlie Blackwell Thomas. “We don’t believe that was related to the storm or the lightning event.”
In a NASA blog post, it was explained that teams lost the ability to pressurize the mobile launcher, which contains umbilicals used to provide propellant to the SLS.
Now unable to properly regulate pressure to enclosed areas of the launcher, a spokesperson said that technicians could no longer safely proceed with loading the fuel.
The tanking phase began Sunday morning, following an afternoon and evening Saturday of severe weather at Kennedy Space Center.
No fewer than four lightning strikes hit close to the SLS rocket, but the team said they saw no constraints to proceeding with the countdown the following day.
After the entire wet dress rehearsal is eventually completed, the rocket will be rolled back into the Vehicle Assembly Building for final checks.
Watch live footage of the SLS rocket on Launch Pad 39A in the video player below: