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The multibillion-dollar Space Launch System rocket sustained minor damage after being battered by Hurricane Nicole for hours, but is still on track for liftoff next week.
Teams at Kennedy Space Center continue to inspect the giant rocket and its ground support equipment ahead of launch, currently scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 1:04 a.m. EST, agency officials said Friday. 16. That’s less than a week between Nicole’s worst effects and release day.
“There’s nothing stopping us from getting to 16 right now,” NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free told reporters at a briefing on Friday. “We still have work to do.”
The main concern — that gusts would exceed the 85 mph limit the SLS is certified for — almost came true this week, but not quite. Sensors located around pad 39B recorded peak winds of 82 mph as Nicole passed through early Thursday morning, Free said. Other concerns such as potential a destructive storm arises and floods did not form.
So far, Free said, teams have found minor damage to sealants around the Orion spacecraft attached to the rocket, umbilicals dislodged by winds and other items such as water intrusion into the crew access arm of the support tower. No element of damage can be a deal breaker for the uncrewed Artemis I, which will launch next week to the moon and back.
NASA found itself in a position where the rocket had to sit on a pad rather than in a vehicle assembly building during the hurricane, but some scratched their heads and others openly opposed the decision.
NASA’s decision to release
The SLS is assembled or assembled at KSC’s famous Car Assembly Building. Late last week, officials gave the “go-ahead” to begin rolling the rocket four miles up to 39B, a process that takes about 11 hours and stresses its components along the way.
NASA officials were aware of a small weather system developing near the Bahamas before the launch, but forecasts at the time indicated a low chance of becoming a full-blown storm. Hurricane season ends in November. 30 and it is unusual for Atlantic systems to strengthen rapidly towards the end.
But Nicole bucked the trend and started growing right after the presentation ended last Friday. Over the weekend, it became clear that NASA needed to make some kind of decision about the system, which is at least predicted to be a tropical storm.
But it was too late: as it took up to three days to prepare the taxiing operations, forecasts indicated that the 46mph gust limit would be breached en route to VAB. However, projections indicated that keeping the rocket on the pad would likely be a safer option, as the SLS is certified for winds of 85 mph at the 60-foot mark. Nicole was not meant to be strong enough to exceed that limit.
“I know there are questions about our decision to leave or stay with the company,” Free said. “We had very careful, very thoughtful meetings (on both options) before we got started.”
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“I can assure you that … we both talked a lot about the risk and the analysis that goes into both, so we decided to stay,” Free said.
Free said the teams clearly would have preferred to keep the $4.1 billion mission’s rocket at VAB, but the less risky decision was to stay on the field.
Peak winds hit 82 mph at 60 feet, but lightning tower sensors recorded winds of 100 mph at 457 feet above the ground. That means NASA stayed within its limits at the 60-foot mark.
“All measurements taken show that these limits are not violated,” Free said. “The loads will be different (at different heights around the pad) … none of which are passed for our certification limits.”
If the inspections pass, Artemis I will launch on Wednesday for a 25-day uncrewed mission to lunar orbit before returning to Earth. The Orion capsule flying aboard the SLS is scheduled to splash into the Pacific Ocean in December. 11.
If all goes according to plan, this will pave the way for Artemis II to carry out the same mission profile as the astronauts on Orion. Artemis III then aims to put two astronauts on the lunar surface before 2030.
SLS and Nicole winds
Storms of any intensity pose a challenge to spaceflight. Equipment manufactured to strict specifications and reliability must not only be maintained, but also have a limited lifespan.
Almost every operation, from launch to refueling, takes its toll on the SLS’s hardware. As for the rocket’s transport, for example, the rocket is rated for 11 rolls, five of which have been used.
Hurricane Nicole and its strong winds brought up another issue: the angle at which the pressure is applied. Rockets are usually great and handle pressure vertically, but like an empty soda can, compression from the sides is more likely to cause damage.
Body structures are built to be strong in certain directions,” he said Phil Metzger, a planetary scientist working on spacecraft processing teams at the University of Central Florida. “That’s the case with a rocket because mass is so important.”
In other words, since every pound counts, rockets don’t need to be strong against pressure from all sides, just those that matter during flight. For example, the boron tubes used during the shuttle program were incredibly strong when viewed from above.
“But if you put any side loading, you can crack and break it,” Metzger said.
In general, inspections after a major event such as a hurricane can cause significant delays because there is no quick way to scan the missile for damage. Metzger said the 85 mph limit is likely a built-in safety margin, so the chance of the SLS sustaining major damage is likely low.
“I don’t think NASA is really too concerned about it, and they have a lot of margin (above the certified limits),” he said.
But if something goes wrong, things change, and Congress will want answers.
“There’s always an element of cover,” Metzger said. “You want to believe you made that decision, but there’s always an element in the space program where if you screw up, you can be called before Congress to testify.”
Part of the inspection process involves creating documentation showing that all reasonable efforts were made not only to find defects but also to correct them.
“That’s what we were saying in the shuttle program: ‘I don’t want to be the one called to Congress for this.’
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