Watch the video above: NASA’s much-hyped plan to reach Mars did not get off the ground on Thursday. Orion was supposed to blast off in the morning, but gusty winds and a sticky fuel valve prevented that. But as Aarti Pole reports, NASA isn’t giving up.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The road to Mars hit a snag on Thursday morning after wind delays and technical issues stalled the launch of Orion.
READ MORE: From the moon to Mars: Why is it taking us so long?
About 30,000 people lined the grounds of the Kennedy Space Center in the early morning hours to watch the scheduled launch. More gathered along the shores.
The two-and-a-half hour launch window opened at 7:05 a.m. Shortly before the window opened, the go for launch was achieved by all involved.
There were three holds during the countdown: one countdown was stopped due to a boat that was believed to be on the range, violating safety restrictions (it ended up that it wasn’t); the second was stopped due to high wind that just barely broke their threshold of 20 to 21 knots, and then the third when a valve on the United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy (ULA) rocket failed to close with just over three minutes remaining until launch.
The launch was then scrubbed and controllers said that they were aiming for a 24-hour turnaround.
“Now the launch team will offload the liquid hydrogen and oxygen which takes a few hours – then they will trouble shoot the technical issue which prevented today’s launch. So we will try again tomorrow as long as they understand and solve the problem,” said Randy Attwood, executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
The next launch attempt will be on Friday at 7:05 a.m.
The ships that will recover Orion in the Pacific Ocean will remain on standby.
WATCH: The Orion spacecraft was supposed to take a test flight on Thursday morning, but NASA was forced to cancel the launch because of winds and a rocket valve issue. Craig Boswell reports.
Orion is the first spacecraft built for a crew to be tested since the space shuttle. The new capsule — which is unmanned for this test — will eventually get humans to asteroids and Mars.
The historic flight was to test critical parts of the capsule including the launch abort system, crew module separation, parachute deployment and the ever-important heat shield.
- Invasive strep: ‘Don’t wait’ to seek care, N.S. woman warns on long road to recovery
- Ontario First Nation declares state of emergency amid skyrocketing benzene levels
- Do Canadians have an appetite for electric vehicles? Experts are divided
- Nearly 200 fossil fuel, chemical lobbyists to join plastic treaty talks in Ottawa
Comments