Hydrogen issues were a mainstay of the Space Shuttle program.
. "Our focus is on understanding the problem. ... We'll follow up next week when we have those options flushed out further."NASA's SLS is the space agency's most powerful rocket to date. Once it launches, it will be capable of producing 9.5 million lbs of thrust to carry a payload capacity of 190,000 lbs up to low-Earth orbit .Importantly though, the agency's newest launch system isn't a complete departure from what came before.
NASA has faced criticism for using old technologies in the face of new reusable tech geared towards more sustainable and cost-effective rocket launches. The trouble is NASA is using the same main engines used for the Space Shuttle, a decision that was mandated when Congress wrote the authorization bill for NASA in 2010. These use liquid hydrogen propellant and liquid oxygen to serve as an oxidizer.
Hydrogen is the lightest element, meaning it is surprisingly easy for leaks to occur. Though it is efficient and it provides better "gas mileage" when used in rocket engines, alternatives such as methane and kerosene are easier to manage and would invariably lead to fewer scrubs on the launch pad.
When it does eventually launch, though, it will pave the way for the crewed Artemis II mission and then Artemis III, which will use SpaceX's Starship as a lunar lander to send humans back to the surface of the moon. Success would mean the transition encouraged by Garver and many others is slowly but surely taking shape.
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