Thread by @WeAreSpaceScout

UPCOMING: NASA is holding another conference in 25 minutes (5:30 p.m. ET, Jan 19) to discuss the SLS Green Run hotfire test.

We will be covering it under this thread, or you can listen in on NASA TV:

Attendants:
@JimBridenstine - NASA Administrator
@KathyLueders - Assoc. admin for HEOMD
John Honeycutt - SLS Program mgr, MSFC
Julie Bassler - SLS stages mgr, MSFC
Ryan McKibben - GR test conductor, SSC
John Shannon - @BoeingSpace SLS mgr
Jeff Zotti - @AerojetRdyne RS-25 director

The update will also be here, though, NASA hasn't started it yet.

Briefing has started.

Opening remarks from Bridenstine: "We're getting more data, we're reviewing the data, as an agency w/ our teams @ Boeing, AJRD, but I want to provide a big picture: We have 4 RS-25 engines firing together, and firing for over a minute, giving us a tremendous amount of data"

"A sensor did terminate the test early, which is not what we were hoping for, but we have to remember where this program was not too long ago, cost overruns and delays, and now we're getting it back on track"

"I also want to emphasize a couple of other things, #1, the effort to complete the first rocket, it's huge, we have the capacity to accelerate the production and drive down cost now, it'll ultimately be enough to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024"

"I'm very proud of the NASA, AJRD, Boeing teams and the amazing amount of work that went into it."

Kathy Leuders: "We needed to have a Green Run test, all the tests leading up, and we said we wanted a stage test so we wouldn't be doing this learning out on the pad. The same way we invested in A1 before crew. This was a great test and we kept saying "it's a test"

"The best test is the one we learn from. And we did. The team is pouring through the data, and we've worked through five hurricanes and so much more. We'll keep learning through that data."

John Honeycutt: "Saturday was extremely historic, as I alluded to that night. This is the biggest test NASA's run in the last 50 years. First time we've had 4 RS-25 engines, and the progress we made to that point was really a huge milestone. The core stage performed perfectly."

"Both the core stage and engines performed perfectly. The shutdown occurred due to a couple test parameters we set on hydraulic systems powered by core stage APUs. In order to protect the flight hardware, we were conservative with test parameters and allow some margin."

"This isn't just a test article, it's the first flight article. I was extremely proud of the team and what they accomplished Saturday, as well as the other 7 Green Run tests."

Honeycutt: "To share a little bit about what we know and what we don't know, we began to go through an aggressive gimbal profile while throttling down, and that's when we saw the stage perform as expected and after picking up a violation advanced to shutdown, as planned."

"The callout on the test conductor's audio loop, the MCF (major component failure), that was a sensor issue on the engine. It did not have anything to do with cutting the test off early."

"We didn't have any sort of a flash/fire damage to the engines, the thermal blankets did their job, the core stage systems worked outstandingly. One of the things I know we've been watching is the software/systems, those all worked perfectly."

"I will tell you, in flight, we would have continued to fly after encountering the conditions we had in the test flight. During the hot fire test, though, the systems were set up to safe the vehicle for this condition."

"The data analysis will inform our decision on whether we proceed to launch or do another test. We do not have a date for when we will make that decision. The engine recycle activities are underway, and that activity is the critical path as to whether we proceed w/ launch or not"

"The team's done an outstanding job over the course of the last year, and pulling back our schedule to the left, so we can get the rocket to KSC."

Q&A starting now.

CBS-East: "Is a launch this year still theoretically possible?"

Lueders: "We are still pushing for a launch this year. Depending on our margin remaining, we'll find out. We won't make the decision based on when we can launch."

@AviationWeek: "Why is NASA considering not re-doing the test fire when they did not meet the minimum 250 second criteria?"

Shannon: "We have a very rigorous process to review that engineering data and determine what we learn from it. We're right at the start of that process."

Lueders: "We need to go look at what we accomplished, what other risks we want to close out with the test, and this is our flight core stage, so you have to understand what's the risk of exposing the flight stage to another round of tests and w/ that trades off."

Bridenstine: "We can load the core stage a total of 9 times, and we're going to have to do a test at KSC there too (maybe a WDR), every time we do something like that it takes away one of our one attempts we can tank. There's reasons to do a full duration hotfire and reasons not"

@NASAWatch: "For Lueders, given that delays and budget for SLS do not support 2024 goal, which expires tomorrow, what is a new date that can be determined?"

Bridenstine: "We are moving forward w/ all the milestones to achieve a 2024 landing."

"It must be stressed that we have strong, bipartisan, apolitical support for Artemis. This is America's agenda to return to the Moon, and to go w/ commercial, and international partners. As far as the date, we just got the budget 1 mo ago, and NASA is doing its work to evaluate."

"Do we need to make or adjust plans? We'll determine that and make a plan the next administration can support, and these programs, like Artemis, are not one-term program. They must be able to span multiple administrations, decades, and generations."

@wapodavenport: "Hi, had this been a real launch and there was a pre-flight MCF reading, would that had stopped a launch?"

Zotti: "Had this been an actual countdown, if we detected it before liftoff, we would've paused and fixed it. Post-liftoff, continued w/ flight."

"We have redundancy in the system, we'll continue to troubleshoot that sensor for the next test or launch."

@jeff_foust: "Was the hydraulic limit trigger and the APU shutdown linked?"

Honeycutt: "They are linked. Our APUs are started on ground helium that starts the turbines to drive the pumps. What we saw was the APU #2 saw a low indication on the reservoir level and system pressure"

"That reading sent the command to the flight computer to shutdown."

Shannon: "The automated software shutdown just to safe the system if there was a problem (there was not). We did see the software shut down the APU and increase the other APU pressures to 105%."

@joroulette: "Shannon or Honeycutt, under what scenario would you forego a redo of the hotfire?"

Honeycutt: "We have to assess the risk associated, plus, as Kathy mentioned earlier, putting additional time on the vehicle. We'll update when we assess the data."

Shannon: "We're at the very beginning of reviewing the data."

@SciGuySpace: "Sounds like you got 100% of the data of only 15/23 of the test objectives. It's standard process to reperform - under what circumstance would you justify not repeating the test? And w/ Jim leaving tomorrow to become a Mt Dew salesman (LOL!) what happens then?"

Shannon: "We answered that question. We need to let the process finish."

(unknown, Bridenstine?): "Because the #2 APU went out of parameter, a very conservative parameter, it shut down. We've got four APUs, correct me if I'm wrong, but there's a lot of hydraulic pressure available for gimbaling of engines, even if you don't have APU #2."

"Had this been a real launch that parameter wouldn't have been set so conservatively. Even APU #2 would've been providing pressure, in flight. My point, we got a lot of great data, but we've learned a lot and it very well may not be necessary. I'm not saying is/isn't."

@nytimes: "Just want to ask about the parameter, what was it set for the test, and what would it have been for flight?"

Shannon: "As the team sets the limit for all these different pieces of hardware, they use test data, engineering judgement, to walk the fine line between..."

"sufficient protection for a safe configuration and to let it operate through the flight regime. We had that small violation but the redlines were set up to catch any off-nominal behavior. There's a judgement call for how you set those parameters."

Question: "For Bridenstine, is there anything you'd like to share for what's next for you?"

Bridenstine: "I don't have anything to share, yet, I do plan to live in Oklahoma and attending my kids' games and meets and doing the things I've missed out on for 8 years."

Phillip Sloss, NSF: "Can you give us more specific timings for the events at the end of the firings? When did the gimbal tests start/shut down. And for Jeff, did the CAPU shutdown force a shutdown of engine #2?"

"The gimbaling started at T+ 60. We sent the command at T+ 61."

Shannon: "No, CAPU #2 did not have any adverse effect on the shutdown."

@StephenClark1: "I heard Lueders say there was multiple months of margin, how much margin did you have going into this? Is there any benefit of doing a short duration FRF at KSC if you don't do a full-duration firing?"

Lueders: "I would not want to give you a date on margin on the current schedule, but like I said before, we're looking at different ways to re-arrange the schedule and keep the margin. When we ship the core stage, you can ask again."

Shannon: "We did a pretty extensive study on Green Run or not, and what would a FRF buy us, we're limited by how much hot fire time we can put on the vehicle on the pad. Any additional test, if we have to do one, we would do at Stennis."

@SPACEdotcom: "This is for Bridenstine, it's been a pretty eventful time that you've served in your current role, what's it like? Words for successor?"

@JimBridenstine: "I've been very reflective, there's no doubt being adminstrator is unlike any other job."

"Whatever I do next will be very difficult to match this experience. The workforce is amazing, the people are incredibly talented, they accepted me on day one and were ready to help/support in any way. What advice I'd give: Find where there are divisions, and eliminate them."

"I've said it a lot: When I was in the House, Reps wanted Moon, Dems wanted Mars. Space should never be partisan, it should be uniting. It's not about human vs robotic exploration, it's about both, and bringing SMD and HEOMD w/ ways like CLPS, and continuing to build..."

"not just interdisciplinary teams, but also transdisciplinary teams. How do we build a program that endures the test of time? We've seen the Space Exploration Initiative get cancelled, we've seen Apollo, it ended too. We made Artemis and Moon to Mars to span generations."

"I heard Keith Cowing talk about the Artemis generation, and I've used it ever since. I'm the first administrator to be born when we didn't have people working on the moon, and I hope to be the last. We need to unite people. It's not about SMD v. HEOMD, not Moon v. Mars..."

"All these narratives of zero-sum games, where you need to spend money in one area while taking it away from the other, we need to be behind that. We need to be bringing unity and end division where it exists. Working apolitically to bring purpose, constancy of purpose..."

"If we have constancy of purpose, and bring people together for a common shared vision, partisan and international, and that's one of the things about Artemis. Countries all over the world were excited about joining. We need to utilize space for generations to come."

"So, that's a lot but there it is. I think this has been an amazing journey for me personally, an amazing time for our country, and look at NASA's budget today. It's $4bn higher than it was when I came in. That's because of bipartisan support. We've brought unity, ended division"

"NASA has done very well. The people that have guided and helped me through these years have been amazing. I'm excited about @NASAPersevere next month, the first astrobiology mission. I am so excited. We'll fly a helicopter on Mars for the first time. I am excited about Orion."

"We'll see Orion orbit the moon, and the first woman to walk on the moon. I'll be on the sidelines watching with amazing interest, thinking of my wonderful experience at NASA. It's been great, and I want to say thank you to the media that has been covering these last 3 years."

"The media has truly engaged on NASA, showing a lot more interest in what we're doing. And I'm grateful for that. That's how we build support, and the consensus that enables the support and objectives we want to achieve. More than you wanted to hear, but I'm grateful for that."

"I thank our team at NASA, not just NASA but Boeing, AJRD, etc. I get to watch it now as a taxpayer, not as head of the agency, but I will be watching and cheering. There will be a new admin, and when they come in, they will have my full support. The agency will support them."

"Things will be great in the future and I am excited about watching it."

Those were closing remarks from Bridenstine, ultimately, his last as administrator. We thank @JimBridenstine for his service as Administrator and are grateful for what he has done for NASA.

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