When is the NASA SLS launch date?

[Dotini]

Based on the security zones and maritime restrictions, she’ll be headed ENE. Not sure when there’s a northerly turn, but she’s got to go near the poles to get into a DRO around the moon.

Supposedly the Apollo missions took a polar route out of Earth orbit to avoid the worst of the Van Allen belts. I think polar orbit takes a fair bit more energy available from the booster than a more standard orbit does. One of the major goals of the current mission is reportedly to evaluate radiation levels and risks. Since we are currently headed into solar maximum, I suppose they may be elevated to an extent.

 

[cerving]

Yet another H2 leak... scrubbed again.

 

[kuririn]

Scrubbed.

 

[rcktnut]

Yet another H2 leak...

They were in too much of a hurry assembling it. Hurry up guys we got to beat China. Scrap it now, put the money to some good use. Let China waste some of their money. I have no problem with other space programs, telescopes, rovers, space station, any other unmanned missions to planets in our solar system. Any manned missions to the moon to set up a base for mining, refueling etc. or manned missions to Mars big waste of money and isn't going to happen anyway. Space/ moon-Mars is just to hostile for man to survive long term and very extremely costly. Exoplanets way to far away even traveling at the speed of light.

 

[Funkworks]

https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2022/09/03/artemis-i-launch-attempt-scrubbed/

 

[Mushtang]

There’s a gajillion cars parked on the sides of the road looking over towards the cape. Traffic just now from Orlando was crazy. We pulled into the parking lot of the condo just as they announced the scrub. So now we’re hoping the Monday launch happens. Hopefully it doesn’t screw up the SpaceX launches.

 

[MClark]

Monday
I can see it live!

 

[cerving]

H2 hose fitting leak is inexcusable. They shouldn't even need to be hooked up to the rocket to test that... you'd think that they would have a dummy receptacle for pressure checks.

All of this makes it even more amazing that Apollo got to the moon on schedule, and basically within budget.

 

[rcktnut]

H2 hose fitting leak is inexcusable. They shouldn't even need to be hooked up to the rocket to test that... you'd think that they would have a dummy receptacle for pressure checks.

All of this makes it even more amazing that Apollo got to the moon on schedule, and basically within budget.

50 years of advanced technology since Apollo and they can't even get past the fueling stage without a problem. They have had fueling problems with every attempt to fuel it since April. Back to the assembly building. What a joke and embarrassment. SCRAP the Sucker.

 

[rcktnut]

Monday
I can see it live!

20 years from now if lucky!!!

 

[bwayne64]

Just let Elon do it. Nasa lost it's mojo a long time ago. Quit wasting the tax payers money, oh wait what am I saying, LOL.

 

[Blast it Tom!]

H2 hose fitting leak is inexcusable. They shouldn't even need to be hooked up to the rocket to test that... you'd think that they would have a dummy receptacle for pressure checks.

All of this makes it even more amazing that Apollo got to the moon on schedule, and basically within budget.

Maybe it's now time to roll out the (10 year old) xkcd comic, if we haven't already on this thread?
Xkcd: Space Launch System
Seriously, though, it makes me sad.

 

[MaxQ]

Funny cartoon there...please standby:

 

[MaxQ]

Maybe it's now time to roll out the (10 year old) xkcd comic, if we haven't already on this thread?
Xkcd: Space Launch System
Seriously, though, it makes me sad.

Well, it wasn't just former Nazi rocket scientists as this nice documentray explains:

 

[MaxQ]

Are the Chinese on schedule?

 

[Blast it Tom!]

Well, it wasn't just former Nazi rocket scientists as this nice documentray explains:

Oh, you are 100% right... in the XKCD world, Black Hat is a psychopath. Further, not all Germans were Nazis. While no man can know another's heart, it is worth noting that von Braun became an evangelical Christian a few years after coming to the US.

 

[Marc_G]

NASA now saying no launch within the period ending this Tuesday... maybe later this month or next month... depends what they find.

 

[cerving]

I think the next launch window is in October if they can't go on Monday.

I may buy one of the Estes SLS RTF's and keep it in the box, it's likely to become a collector's item in a few years if SLS never gets off the ground.

 

[terryg]

So, back to the vehicle assembly building?

 

[cerving]

So, back to the vehicle assembly building?

Apparently. While they're at it, they should fix that bad engine #3 temp sensor, too...

 

[Funkworks]

 

[mh9162013]

I think the next launch window is in October if they can't go on Monday.

I may buy one of the Estes SLS RTF's and keep it in the box, it's likely to become a collector's item in a few years if SLS never gets off the ground.

Now's the time to buy, as Estes.com seems to be accepting stacking discount codes that lead to 40%-65% off anything from their site.

 

[cls]

hink the next launch window is in October if they can't go on Monday.

I may buy one of the Estes SLS RTF's and keep it in the box, it's likely to become a collector's item in a few years if SLS never gets off the ground.

I bought one. Flew it several times, hoping it would crash. But it flies great. I always put on the flight card "cost $50 billion!", Crowd pleaser.

It's in the shelf at the GFs house. If the thing ever launches, she wants it for a prop for the class

 

[Antares JS]

What we need is a 1/100 builder's SLS. I know a prototype has been seen at estes displays.

 

[mh9162013]

What we need is a 1/100 builder's SLS. I know a prototype has been seen at estes displays.

Maybe Estes is waiting for the SLS to actually fly.

 

[Dotini]

Here's something to make us all feel a bit better:

 

[cvanc]

(devil's advocate mode on)

1- There seems to be agreement that LH is not only more challenging but way more challenging that warmer fluids. Correct?

2- This has to be largest LH tank ever flown, right (537KGal)? Second-largest LH tank was probably the space shuttle ET (396KGal)? Followed perhaps by the second stage of Saturn V (260KGal)?

3- They've said this troublesome fill line is 8 inches in diameter. Could this be larger than ever tried before?

4- Is there history on other programs of similar concerns? In other words is this fairly common 'teething pain'?

(advocate mode off)

 

[Antares JS]

(devil's advocate mode on)

1- There seems to be agreement that LH is not only more challenging but way more challenging that warmer fluids. Correct?

2- This has to be largest LH tank ever flown, right (537KGal)? Second-largest LH tank was probably the space shuttle ET (396KGal)? Followed perhaps by the second stage of Saturn V (260KGal)?

3- They've said this troublesome fill line is 8 inches in diameter. Could this be larger than ever tried before?

4- Is there history on other programs of similar concerns? In other words is this fairly common 'teething pain'?

(advocate mode off)

1 - Yes
2 - Yes
3 - Not sure.
4 - Yes, Shuttle. Hydrogen was a huge pain to deal with and caused problems right up to the end. Of course, they got better at dealing with it, but I imagine a lot of the people with that knowledge didn't stick around to do nothing for over a decade. A couple of the people who work on Antares now are former Shuttle workers with great stories.

 

[Funkworks]

1- There seems to be agreement that LH is not only more challenging but way more challenging that warmer fluids. Correct?

According to people here, NASA pros, having played with liquid N2 myself, and common sense of LH being colder than most people ever come across, yes. But I'll put an even bigger devil's hat on and say I can't think of any LH explosion aside from Challenger 86, and if we add the Hindenburg's H2 gas, that makes for a grand total of: 2. Whereas for other fuels ... I wouldn't know where to start counting. 1. Develop the method. 2. Folow the method. That should be it. Specializing in H2 handling now sounds more interesting than ever to me.

2- This has to be largest LH tank ever flown, right (537KGal)? Second-largest LH tank was probably the space shuttle ET (396KGal)? Followed perhaps by the second stage of Saturn V (260KGal)?
3- They've said this troublesome fill line is 8 inches in diameter. Could this be larger than ever tried before?

I would agree but I don't actually know these numbers.

4- Is there history on other programs of similar concerns? In other words is this fairly common 'teething pain'?

This is where I can add something: In the press conference yesterday, which I followed for a while, I caught that the shuttle ran for 9 years with little to no hydrogen issues, but in 1990-something, they spent the entire summer looking for the cause of leaks. So yes there is a history of hydrogen issues and solutions, but packaging that history in a little box (or post) would require a little digging.

 

[Antares JS]

According to people here, NASA pros, having played with liquid N2 myself, and common sense of LH being colder than most people ever come across, yes.

Aside from the temperature, the other thing that makes hydrogen very hard to handle is that H2 molecules are tiny. I'm pretty sure the only thing smaller, without getting into subatomic particles, is helium atoms. This makes H2 able to escape from a smaller imperfection in a seal. If I remember correctly, there is an allowance for leaks as H2 is basically impossible to contain completely. That leak allowance was exceeded yesterday.