Fuel leak ruins NASA's 2nd shot at launching moon rocket

Liquid H₂ leaks have been an issue for every hydrogen rocket since the beginning. https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/06/nasa-almost-finishes-a-critical-fueling-test-of-the-sls-rocket/ If it didn't perform better than the other options, they wouldn't be using it.

Hopefully, a jump in science will lead to a better solution for hydrogen containment and fueling that has eluded the SLS program. Or they will choose to lose some performance and switch to a different fuel.

The SLS isn't about taking stuff into Earth orbit. It is about throwing stuff much farther. For LEO needs, there are a number of private launch companies doing that task faster and cheaper.

Those of us that watched the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo launches will remember that these thing are normal. Scrubbed launches and reschedules are par for the course.

They should use Russian rockets and Chinese technology. What if it falls on a city?

Rodney: They should use Russian rockets and Chinese technology. What if it falls on a city?

You've been reading the wrong propaganda.

This isn't China's launch location which has crashed on local villages. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siYU-CazEoM is a video showing Chinese launches, some failures where hundreds of people (200+) are injured since China's 3 or 4 launch locations are inland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAyOhUYIbd4 is another video about Chinese rocket failure which destroyed a village. Disclosure: I worked for Loral, but not SS/L, which is referenced in the video.

The SLS is launched from the eastern Florida coast headed east. It reaches orbital speeds before crossing the Atlantic. There aren't any cities in the flight path over the Atlantic ocean to hit.

I wonder if they will ever get a man on the moon...

Fuel leak ruins NASA's 2nd shot at launching moon rocket

Hydrogen is a notoriously difficult fuel to work with. To get enough energy density, it needs to be cooled to extremely low temperatures and compressed to extremely high pressures. In gaseous form, it does not have that much energy per volume, and is highly flammable. The Germans found that out in the 1930's with the Hindenburg.

They should use Russian rockets and Chinese technology. What if it falls on a city?

For that very stated reason is why we don't use Russian and Chinese technology.

Look at what the hydrogen did at Fukushima. Err on the safe side. Turning up for a party then canceling is a dampener.

Keep grinding, ladies and gentlemen of NASA. This IS, as they say, “rocket science” and it has been a while since we tackled something this ambitious.

Keep the heads up. You’ll get there.