NASA’s star-crossed Space Launch System moon rocket was grounded Saturday for the second time in five days after engineers tried and failed to remotely stop a hydrogen leak in a quick-disconnect fitting where propellants are fed into the giant booster’s first stage.Engineers made three attempts to properly “seat” a suspect seal in the 8-inch fitting, but none of them worked and after a “no-go” recommendation from the engineers working the problem, Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson called off the countdown at 11:17 a.m. EDT.
Oxygen vapor streams away from the Space Launch System rocket as engineers, working by remote control, tried to stop a hydrogen leak in a quick-disconnect fitting at the base of the rocket where ultra-cold propellant is fed into the booster’s first stage. After three unsuccessful attempts, the launch was called off.
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