Four lightning strikes hit the area around Launch Pad 39B, where NASA’s first Space Launch System (SLS) is undergoing a three-day power test known as a “wet dress rehearsal” to send Artemis 1 to the moon later this year. The rocket is protected from lightning by three towers and a wire chain structure to deflect ground shocks away from the amplifier. The first three lightning strikes were relatively low-power events, NASA officials wrote in a briefing late Saturday. But the fourth blow, which struck the “tower one” of the lightning protection system, was stronger. YouTube site Googlevesaire recorded a clip of lightning from a live stream of NASA video from the power test.
NASA’s Artemis 1 Space Launch System rocket is located at the top of Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida during a refueling test on April 3, 2022. (Image credit: NASA Kennedy Space Center) “One of the blows last night was the strongest we’ve seen since we installed the new lightning protection system,” wrote Jeremy Parsons, NASA’s deputy director of Exploration Ground Systems, who posted the test live on Twitter. . “It hit the chain cable that runs between the 3 towers. The system performed extremely well and kept the SLS and Orion safe. Glad we improved Shuttle protection!” Parsons said NASA has upgraded the Pad 39B’s lightning protection system to include better impact shielding and better separation of power from the launch material. Each of its towers is covered with a fiberglass mast and chain wires to deflect lightning away from the rocket and its service structure, he added. “The new system also has a range of sensors, both ground and mobile launcher, that will help determine the state of the missile after a close lightning strike, which can prevent days of delays,” Parsons wrote in a separate post. At lightning speed on Saturday, the main stage of the Artemis 1 SLS rocket and the rocket Orion spacecraft were powered on, but the side rocket boosters and a temporary cryogenic propulsion stage were switched off, according to a NASA update. Early Sunday, NASA’s Artemis 1 launch controllers met to review data from lightning and the progress of the wet-dress rehearsal, finally giving the “go” to start powering the Space Launch System rocket at 7:20 a.m. . EDT (1120 GMT). This weekend, the wet dress rehearsal test began on April 1 and is a complete practical launch count for the Artemis 1 mission. During the test, ground crews will fill the core stage with 700,000 gallons of supernatant and liquid oxygen. liquid propellant hydrogen. Artemis 1 is NASA’s first SLS mission as part of the organization’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon by approximately 2025. Flight Artemis 1 will be an unmanned journey around the moon to test the Space Launch System and the Orion crew capsule, which carries a series of experiments and a sensor-covered mannequin. NASA will provide information on the results of the Artemis 1 power test at a press conference on Monday (April 4) at 11 a.m. EDT (15:00 GMT). Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] or follow @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram.
