[dreamingat30fps]

Didn't we already go to the moon with like some paperclips, chewing gum and a pocket calculator? Or did we.....

[rwheels]

Could it be??

https://babylonbee.com/news/nasa-del...fter-last-trip

[M5Rick]

Artemis 1 due for lift off tomorrow all being well.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

Artemis 1 due for lift off tomorrow [COLOR="Black"]all being well[/COLOR].

Yes, we'll keep our fingers crossed. 🤞

[vreihen16]

It looks like NASA pulled an unplanned launch date out of their butts for attempt #2, on 9/3 @ 2:17 PM EDT.....

[Robin_NL]

Cheers
Robin

[2000cs]

Woke up to heavy rain and power blinking at 6 this morning, and thought there is no way they can launch. Now it is clear to the west and mostly cloudy over the ocean, looks to be clearer to the south. If launched now we couldn’t see it from the house, but maybe the weather will continue to clear (rain should end, clouds remain is the forecast). Looks to be a go for this afternoon. Launch window 2:17 PM to 4:17 PM eastern time today.

[vreihen16]

I have strong doubts that that Space Lemon System is going anywhere but back to the vehicle assembly building today. At about T-6 hours, they started working a problem with a liquid hydrogen quick-disconnect leaking at the connection between the launch platform and rocket when they started fueling.

Plan A was to cut off the flow for half an hour, to let the connector warm up and hopefully seal. No bueno.

Plan B was to purge the liquid hydrogen from the line, and then over-pressurize it with helium to force the seal closed. Also no bueno.

Plan C is to re-try Plan A again, and the half hour thaw just ended as I'm typing this.

Even if they succeed in filling the liquid hydrogen this morning, I have questions about the thermal stresses and strain on the main stage from filling the upper tank to capacity with liquid oxygen while the bottom liquid hydrogen tank is only 9% full. I assume that the main stage is of monocoque design, and that there is a specific tanking order so that nothing buckles from the weight/pressure/temperature differences.

They just started liquid hydrogen flow again. Let's hope that the connector seals, because I'm pretty sure that they will need to roll the rocket back to the VAB to change out the FTS (self-destruct) batteries if it doesn't launch today.....

[vreihen16]

Plan C failed. The liquid hydrogen team is discussing their next step.

My suggestion for Plan D is to send someone to the Kennedy Space Center Gift Shop to buy a t-shirt. Soak it in water, wrap it around the leaking connector, and start the cryogenic flow again. The t-shirt will freeze from the -460F fuel flowing through the connector, and seal up the leak.....

[vreihen16]

10:55 AM EDT - the launch team has recommended a no-go to the launch director. Expecting a decision to abort today's launch attempt any moment now.....

[Captain Blood]

Scrubbed

[2000cs]

New launch window Monday 5:12 PM to 6:42 PM.

[Captain Blood]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

New launch window Monday 5:12 PM to 6:42 PM.

Eastern time?

[M5Rick]

So we wait.

[2000cs]

Originally Posted by Captain Blood

Eastern time?

Yes, sorry I left that off.

[Captain Blood]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

10:55 AM EDT - the launch team has recommended a no-go to the launch director. Expecting a decision to abort today's launch attempt any moment now.....

Who will orbit achieve lunar orbit 1st, SLS or Starship?

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by Captain Blood

Who will orbit achieve lunar orbit 1st, SLS or Starship?

At least Starship has left the pad several times.....

[Captain Blood]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

At least Starship has left the pad several times.....

I just can't get over the fact that they're using essentially Shuttle technology, and they can't get the plumbing right. Didn't the shuttle use three engines, and this has the same engine arrangement plus one????

[vreihen16]

The guy who mated that connector during the shuttle program obviously retired, and the ten engineers that Boeing/NASA hired to replace him forgot to coat the seal with a dab of oil before connecting it.....

[2000cs]

Launch postponed to October, specific date not set.

[vreihen16]

I watched the post-scrub news conference the other day. NASA Administrator (and former US Senator) Bill Nelson looked older and more feeble than that giant space lemon on the launch pad! Only twice in my life have I ever felt so bad for someone on a stage that I wished they'd cut the camera off to save the person's dignity. The other time was Admiral Stockdale during the 1992 Presidential VP debates. Truly sad to see.....

[Captain Blood]

Originally Posted by Robin_NL

Cheers
Robin

The Soviets did have many successes, but this papers over their extremely high failure rate. Orbit the sun? Yeah, the damn thing missed its target. That happened a lot with the Luna and Venera probes.