SpaceX Details Helium Leak
SpaceX released some of the details about the helium leak in the Falcon 9 rocket that scrubbed Monday’s launch attempt of the SpaceX cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. Here is what the company said: “During Monday’s launch attempt, preflight checks detected that a helium valve in the stage separation pneumatic system was not holding the right pressure. This meant that the stage separation pistons would be reliant on a backup check valve. No issue was detected with the backup valve and a flight would likely have been successful, but SpaceX policy is not to launch with any known anomalies. We have brought the vehicle back to horizontal and are replacing the faulty valve, as well as inspecting the whole system for anything that may have contributed to the valve not working as designed.”
SpaceX-3 is slated for liftoff Friday at 3:25 p.m. EDT. Saturday was chosen as the backup day for launch with a launch time of 3:02 p.m. EDT.
