NASA has mixed results from a partial fill of Moon rocket

"Dubbed a "confidence test" by NASA, the core stage of the SLS was partially filled with liquid oxygen to check out the newly replaced seals around where the propellant leaked in a recent Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR). According to NASA, "Teams were able to gain confidence in several key objectives of the test," although things did not go entirely to plan. One issue was a reduced flow of liquid hydrogen into the rocket, which engineers suspect was caused by a filter in ground support equipment."

"The agency said it had obtained data "at the core stage interfaces, taken at the same time in the test where they encountered a leak during the previous wet dress rehearsal." It added: "Engineers will purge the line over the weekend to ensure proper environmental conditions and inspect the ground support equipment before replacing a filter suspected to be the cause of the reduced flow.""

""Considering the issues observed during the lead-up to Artemis I, and the long duration between missions, we should not be surprised there are challenges entering the Artemis II campaign." "I will say near-conclusively for Artemis III, we will cryoproof the vehicle before it gets to the pad, and the propellant loading interfaces we are troubleshooting will be redesigned.""

A partially filled core stage confidence test used liquid oxygen to check newly replaced seals at the previous propellant leak site. Teams gained confidence in several test objectives, but a reduced liquid hydrogen flow was observed and attributed to a suspected filter in the ground support equipment. Engineers replaced the filter and planned to purge and inspect lines to ensure proper environmental conditions. Data were obtained at the core stage interfaces taken when the prior leak occurred. Artemis II remains targeted for March at the earliest, and plans for Artemis III include cryoproofing and redesign of propellant loading interfaces.

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