NASA managers might forego SLS rollback and aim for Oct 2nd launch
Based on the present hurricane track, NASA managers are considering the possibility of leaving SLS on the launchpad so that they can go for a launch on October 2, 2022.
NASA managers will meet this evening to evaluate whether to roll back or remain at the launch pad to preserve an opportunity for a launch attempt on Oct. 2. The exact time of a potential rollback will depend on future weather predictions throughout the day and could occur Monday or very early Tuesday morning.
If they stay on the launchpad, it means the flight termination system is questionable at launch. If the rocket goes out of control during its first test launch — a not-unreasonable possibility for a new rocket — there is a chance the range officer will not be able to destroy it.
If they roll back to the assembly building, it means the rocket’s two solid strap-on boosters will either have to be replaced, delaying the launch months more, or the rocket will launch with two boosters that are questionable.
Every choice they face is a bad one, simply because this rocket is really not well designed for practical use.
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Based on the present hurricane track, NASA managers are considering the possibility of leaving SLS on the launchpad so that they can go for a launch on October 2, 2022.
NASA managers will meet this evening to evaluate whether to roll back or remain at the launch pad to preserve an opportunity for a launch attempt on Oct. 2. The exact time of a potential rollback will depend on future weather predictions throughout the day and could occur Monday or very early Tuesday morning.
If they stay on the launchpad, it means the flight termination system is questionable at launch. If the rocket goes out of control during its first test launch — a not-unreasonable possibility for a new rocket — there is a chance the range officer will not be able to destroy it.
If they roll back to the assembly building, it means the rocket’s two solid strap-on boosters will either have to be replaced, delaying the launch months more, or the rocket will launch with two boosters that are questionable.
Every choice they face is a bad one, simply because this rocket is really not well designed for practical use.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
With both of these issues, you would think NASA would be a bit more cautious. If this had been SpaceX or anyone else, they would be grounded.
The big question I have is: why put the batteries for the flight termination system somewhere that they cannot be replaced on the pad. That is a very bad design choice.
Or even worse, why didn’t they use rechargeable batteries that could be topped up via umbilical? That would seem to avoid this problem completely.
Marooned – (1969)
“bad weather launch scene”
https://youtu.be/yD1hbplN4DE?t=189
I was waiting for wayne to post that!
It’s urgent to launch SLS before Musk launches Starship, keep it out there and if the storm comes over launch through the eye !
(Yeah, there’s that 75mph wind limit while on the tower/pad but surely a waiver can be had…)
There is one extreme option available for backups to the flight termination system.
Have USAF position a few F-22s nearby. At launch time, of the rocket goes off course, and the Range Officer cannot terminate the flight, the F-22s can take it out, if it is headed toward populated areas. If it is just headed out to sea, let it.
Like I said.. an extreme option. But it is always good to have options.
I think I might have batteries on the brain these days, but I think I read something, somewhere along the way, that this bird has some cubesats that are supposed to be deployed while it circles the moon. If that’s the case, do they have limited battery life?
A genuine thank you to Mr. Zimmerman and everyone here for all the great info about this rocket, its mission and its very, shall we say, tortured path thus far.
Looks like they decided to roll back to the VAB, starting at 11 PM Eastern.
Mitch S.
Har–this situation was just begging for that Marooned clip.
(Great movie, all-in-all. Saw it at a drive-in in 1969.)