Nasa: Artemis Moon rocket second launch attempt called off
The launch of Nasa's new Artemis I Moon rocket is facing a potentially lengthy delay after a second postponement, BBC reported.
Controllers tried and failed again on Saturday to get the Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle to lift off. They were thwarted by a fuel leak.
Engineers now want to inspect the rocket, and any repairs may need to happen in the workshop rather than on the launch pad.
The whole process is certain to lead to a setback of several weeks.
It means we may not see a third launch attempt before mid-October at the earliest.
Much of the enormous thrust comes from burning almost three million litres of super-cold liquid hydrogen and oxygen in four big engines on the vehicle's underside.
But when controllers sent the command early on Saturday morning to fill the rocket's hydrogen tank, an alarm went off, indicating there was a leak.
Controllers tried a number of fixes, including allowing the hardware to warm up for short periods to reset the seal, but they were not successful.
The Artemis I mission is uncrewed, but Nasa's Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin said the rocket's future role in human spaceflight meant extreme care was still required in its operation, according to BBC.
"This is an incredibly hard business. This is an initial test flight of this vehicle. As was said: we're going to fly when we're ready. And as part of this initial test flight, we're learning the vehicle; we're learning how to operate the vehicle," he told reporters.
The leaky seal on the SLS could conceivably be fixed on the launch pad. But there are batteries in the termination system used to destroy the rocket in the event of a wayward launch that will require recertification beyond this coming week, and this can only be done in the workshop.
Rolling the vehicle back to the engineering building makes a third lift-off attempt before mid-October unlikely.
"In order to test our batteries, change out the batteries, we have to roll back," said Jim Free, Nasa's associate administrator for exploration systems development.
Saturday's attempt to despatch the SLS rocket had been scheduled for the start of a two-hour window beginning at 14:17 local time (19:17 BST; 18:17 GMT).
The 100m-tall vehicle's objective is to hurl a human-rated capsule, called Orion, in the direction of the Moon, something that hasn't happened since Project Apollo ended in 1972.
Nasa had first tried to launch the rocket on Monday. That attempt was waved off when controllers couldn't be sure the four big engines at the base of the core-stage were at the correct operating temperature.
Frustratingly, subsequent analysis indicated that a sensor was almost certainly outputting inaccurate readings. The power units, in all probability, were in absolutely the right condition to go fly.
When the SLS does get away, it is sure to be a spectacular sight, BBC reported.
"It's gonna be 'shuttle on steroids'," said Doug Hurley, who was the pilot on the very last shuttle mission in 2011.
Nepal's 2nd Confucius Institute expected to deepen ties
The Confucius Institute at Tribhuvan University, the second in Nepal, was inaugurated on Tuesday in the Nepali capital Kathmandu, with the stakeholders pledging more resources to make it a better platform for cooperation, Xinhua reported. Though it was initiated in 2019, the university's institute had a two-year hiatus from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Liu Yueming, the Chinese director of the institute. Addressing the inauguration ceremony via video link, Nepali Minister for Education, Science and Technology Devendra Paudel noted that the Nepali side has recognized the importance of the Chinese language and listed it as an optional course for students from grade nine to 12 starting this year. Paudel said the learning of languages and cultures can help elevate the relationship between the two countries. He voiced hope that the Confucius Institute will be helpful for language teaching, cultural exchanges, bilateral cooperation and mutual understanding. "The Chinese language has become very necessary for Nepal's economic and social development, investment, tourism and higher education," Leela Mani Paudyal, former Nepali ambassador to China, said during the institute's inauguration. "We believe that China's development is an opportunity for us." More than 30,000 learners have been registered with the Confucius institutes at Kathmandu University and Tribhuvan University, contributing manpower to Nepal's tourism, infrastructure, business and trade sectors in particular, said Hou Yanqi, the Chinese ambassador to Nepal. Also addressing the inauguration ceremony via video link, Hou voiced hope that the two institutes would become a window for showcasing the Chinese culture, a bridge to promote cultural exchanges and a bond for China-Nepal friendship. Dharma Kanta Baskota, vice-chancellor of Tribhuvan University, said the Confucius Institute focuses on high-quality language and cultural projects, according to Xinhua. In June 2007, Hebei University of Economics and Business and Kathmandu University jointly established the first Confucius Institute in Nepal. The Chinese university oversees Chinese language and cultural programs for the institute.
Japan calls for creditor nations' talks on Sri Lanka debt restructuring
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki on Friday urged all creditor nations to discuss Sri Lanka's debt restructuring, after the crisis-hit South Asian nation reached a loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund, Reuters reported. "It's important for all creditor nations, including China and India, to gather to discuss Sri Lanka's debt restructuring," Suzuki told a news conference. Sri Lanka has reached a preliminary agreement with the IMF for a loan of about $2.9 billion, the global lender said on Thursday, as the country seeks a way out of its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948, according to Reuters.
Sanitation drive in heritage site for tourism promotion
Heritage sites and tourist areas in Kathmandu were cleaned as a part of the ‘Clean Nepal, Green Nepal’ campaign. The campaign saw some 300 participants including Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Tourism Secretary Suresh Adhikari and the CEO of the Nepal Tourism Board Dr Dhananjay Regmi as well as local community engaging in cleaning of the heritage sites and tourist spots. The campaign has been launched by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation while today’s program was organized by the Ministry in association with the Nepal Tourism Board and Thamel Tourism Development Council. During the cleanup program, Basantapur, Asan and Thamel areas were cleaned using broom, gloves and traditional floor scrubber among others, shared Board’s senior director Hikmat Singh Aiyer. The campaign is part of the 73-point strategy issued by the Ministry to revive COVID-19-affected tourism sector of the country. All the heritage sites across the country will be cleaned gradually under the campaign for tourism promotion, added Aiyer. Council’s president Bhabishwor Sharma was hopeful that such activity would aid in revival of tourism in the country. The Council would honor those significantly contributing in this sanitation drive of Thamel, shared Sharma.
