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The test at the Mississippi-based Stennis Space Center was supposed to take a little over eight minutes, as the same engines would have to run during actual flight, but they would shut down minutes after starting.
“The teams are evaluating the data to determine what caused the engines to shut down prematurely and then decide what to do next,” NASA said in a statement.
The SLS rocket is designed to carry spacecraft during Artemis missions, during which American astronauts will visit the Moon again.
“Saturday’s test was an important step forward in ensuring that the main stage of the SLS rocket is ready for Artemis I and suitable for crew members to fly on future missions,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
“It just came to our knowledge then [planuotą] “The team successfully completed the reverse calculation, started the engines and received valuable data that helped us plan for the future,” he added.
The cause of the engine shutdown has yet to be determined, but SLS program director John Honeycutt told reporters that researchers noticed a flicker in the thermal protective coating on one of the engines and are currently analyzing the data. available.
“In my opinion, the team has done a lot today, we have learned a lot about the machine,” emphasized J. Honeycutt.
NASA’s Artemis I mission to test the SLS and the Orion drone should take place later this year.
It is planned that in 2023, during another mission, Artemis II, the astronauts reach the orbit of the Moon, but will not land there. During the Artemis III mission, astronauts, including the first woman, will be sent to the Moon in 2024.
According to the configuration adapted to Artemis I, the SLS will be 98 m high, taller than the Statue of Liberty, and more powerful than the Saturn V missiles used in the Apollo missions, during which the first astronauts landed on the Moon.
NASA’s ultimate goal is to establish an Artemis base camp on the Moon by the end of this decade. It is an ambitious plan that will require tens of billions of dollars in funding and the approval of President-elect Joe Biden and Congress.
The return of the astronauts to the Moon is the first part of the Artemis program, which should eventually allow the establishment of a colony on Earth’s satellite, as well as test the technology necessary to implement plans to send a man to Mars in the decade 1930.
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