NASA sends the SLS back to the barn for repairs

[Ombligo]

NASA is moving the SLS back to the VAB to work on the issues that came about while trying its wet dress rehearsal.

Since April 1st, NASA has tried three times to complete the rehearsal test of the Artemis 1 Moon mission. The test is designed to replicate the countdown procedure the SLS will undergo when the mission hopefully gets underway later this year. On two of the attempts, there have been issues with the Nitrogen supply line and on another, there was a hydrogen leak to the second stage.

It will be the largest flight-capable rocket ever returned to the VAB. A non-flight capable Saturn V mockup was rolled back in 1966, and shuttle Discovery went back before its final flight in 2011.

[Will Collier]

(Insert Picard facepalm meme here)

[SteveG]

"If the SLS goes back in its burrow on Easter, that means we'll have six more years of development."

[Tiangou]

Did anyone think this test was going to be a success?

SLS is a POC pushed on NASA by politicians who wanted to keep expensive space industries in their backyards with non-competitive, single-source contracts, and NASA had to make up bogus lunar missions to find a use for it. It's mind bogglingly wasteful with multiple giant single-use engines. Space boffins have been calling for an end to the program since its origins in 2011 and begged for the money to go to something productive. Not a big Musk fan, but Space-X can do more for 1/100th the cost RIGHT NOW.

It has been delayed no less than 16 times now. I think they'll happily delay it many more times just to keep the money flowing.

Also... the "core" is another one of those Boeing projects that will probably never work twice in a row. How would anyone expect Boeing to be able to make a working rocket? They can't make working airplanes these days!

[MikeF]

They need to send it behind the barn to put it out of its misery.

[Don C]

Where's Katherine Johnson when we need her?

[vision63]

Tiangou wrote:
Did anyone think this test was going to be a success?

SLS is a POC pushed on NASA by politicians who wanted to keep expensive space industries in their backyards.

Sonic Laser Systems is a Person of Color pushed on Nautical Aboriginal Saucy Associates who wanted to keep expensive space industries in their backyards.

[Paul F.]

"It will be the largest flight-capable rocket ever returned to the VAB."

SLS is larger, but Shuttle Columbia was rolled back several times. For several months at a time once... Those tiles were, shall we say, problematic.

I'll consider it a "win" if SLS can launch by this time next year. And, at the same time, a giant LOSS, since it's such a damn financial fiasco.

I expected SLS to be comparable to the Shuttle for per-flight cost; about $1.5 Billion per flight. Nope... they blew that out of the water, at about $4 BILLION per launch.
Meanwhile, Falcon Heavy can do about 70% of SLS's job for just under $100 MILLION....
Even if Starship and Superheavy miss their cost target by a factor of TEN, it will still be almost two orders of magnitude cheaper than SLS.

[Ombligo]

I wonder what Vegas odds are on it being a giant fireball before ever reaching orbit.