An SLS engine burns propellant (left), then abruptly shuts down (right) during a hot fire test on January 16, 2021.
NASA TVNASA's mega-sized moon rocket encountered an engine issue during a critical test on Saturday, and the error could further delay the agency's effort to send astronauts back to the moon.
The rocket, called Space Launch System (SLS), is designed to eventually stand 365 feet (111 meters) and ferry astronauts to the moon sometime in the mid- to late-2020s. The system is an essential piece of a larger program called Artemis, a roughly $30 billion effort to put boots back on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. NASA has spent about $18 billion developing the rocket.
The SLS core stage - the system's largest piece and its structural backbone - was assembled and heavily strapped down at Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, on Saturday for a critical "hot fire" test. For the first time, the rocket was ready to simultaneously fire its four powerful RS-25 engines as it would for launch.
Crews at Stennis Space Center lift the core stage of NASA's Space Launch System into place at test stand B-2 on January 22, 2020.
NASA
The core stage is the world's largest and most powerful rocket stage, according to NASA. It hosts five mains sections, including a 537,000-gallon (2 million-liter) tank for liquid hydrogen, a 196,000-gallon (742,000-liter) tank for liquid oxygen, four RS-25 engines, avionics computers, and other subsystems. Boeing is the lead contractor for the stage, and Aerojet Rocketdyne is responsible for its RS-25 engines, which used to help propel NASA's fleet of space shuttles.
The fuel tanks were filled with 733,000 gallons of cryogenically chilled propellant on Saturday, and the engines roared to life at about 5:27 p.m. EST.
"It was like an earthquake," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told reporters in a press conference after the test. "It was a magnificent moment. And it just brought joy that after all this time, now we've got a rocket. The only rocket on the face of the planet capable of taking humans to the moon was firing all four RS-25 engines at the same time."
The engines were supposed to fire continuously for eight minutes. But about one minute into the test, the engine controller sent a command to the core-stage controller to shut them down.
Controllers had seen a flash next to the thermal-protection blanket covering engine four. Shortly afterward, that engine registered an MCF, or "major component failure." It's not yet clear what happened.
"At the time that they made the call we did still have four good engines up and running at 109%," John Honeycutt, the SLS program manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, said in the press conference.
The whole thing was captured on NASA's live broadcast:
"The amount of progress that we've made here today is remarkable. And no, this is not a failure. This is a test. And we tested today in a way that is meaningful, where we're going to learn and we're going to make adjustments and we're going to fly to the moon," Bridenstine said.
The SLS team will spend the next few days poring over data from the test, assessing the core stage and the engines to figure out what happened and how to move forward.
NASA may need to re-do the hot fire test
Saturday's hot fire was supposed to be the eighth and final step in NASA's "Green Run," a program designed to thoroughly test each part of the core stage ahead of SLS's first launch, called Artemis 1 - an uncrewed test flight currently scheduled for November 2021.
An artist's rendering of NASA's Space Launch System rocketing toward low-Earth orbit.
NASA via Associated Press
But that timeline may be unrealistic now. If the hot fire went well, NASA was planning to ship the rocket to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida in February. There, workers would stack all the segments of the two boosters required for sending Artemis 1 around the moon.
It's unclear how long it will take NASA to correct the engine error and get the core stage to Florida now.
"It depends what the anomaly was and how challenging it's going to be to fix it. And we've got a lot to learn to figure that out," Bridenstine said. "It very well could be that it's something that's easily fixable and we could feel confident going down to the Cape and staying on schedule. It's also true that we could find a challenge that's going to take more time."
The SLS core stage fires its engines for the hot fire test on January 16, 2021.
NASA/Robert Markowitz
The agency may have to redo the hot fire test. The SLS team wanted to get to at least 250 seconds of the engines firing together to have high confidence in the vehicle. Saturday's test lasted for just over 60 seconds.
It would take at least four or five days to prepare the Stennis Space Center facilities for another test. If NASA needs to swap the current engines for new ones, workers can do it on-site at the Stennis Space Center. Honeycutt estimated it would take about seven to 10 days to do that.
"This is why we test," Bridenstine said. "Before we put American astronauts on American rockets, that's when we need it to be perfect."
This story has been updated. It was originally published at 8:17 p.m. EST on January 16, 2021.
Dave Mosher contributed reporting.
NEW YORK, Jan. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. V (the “Company”) announced today that it priced its upsized initial public offering of 30,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit. The units will be listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) and trade under the ticker symbol “HCICU” beginning tomorrow, Friday, January 15, 2021. Each unit consists of one share of the Company’s Class A common stock and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant, each whole warrant enabling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. Only whole warrants are exercisable. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the Class A common stock and warrants are expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “HCIC” and “HCICW,” respectively.
The offering is expected to close on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.
The Company is a blank check company founded by Daniel J. Hennessy and formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. While the Company may pursue an initial business combination target in any business, industry, sector or geographical location, it intends to focus its search on target businesses in the sustainable industrial technology and infrastructure industries.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Barclays Capital Inc. are serving as joint book-running managers for the offering and Roth Capital Partners, LLC and Loop Capital Markets LLC are serving as co-managers for the offering. The Company has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 4,500,000 units at the initial public offering price to cover over-allotments, if any.
The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. When available, copies of the prospectus may be obtained from Citigroup Global Markets Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by telephone at 1-800-831-9146; or Barclays Capital Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by telephone at 888-603-5847, or by email at Barclaysprospectus@broadridge.com.
A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and was declared effective on January 14, 2021. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements,” including with respect to the initial public offering and the anticipated use of the net proceeds. No assurance can be given that the offering discussed above will be completed on the terms described, or at all, or that the net proceeds of the offering will be used as indicated. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s registration statement and preliminary prospectus for the offering filed with the SEC. Copies are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.
Contact
CODY SLACHGateway IRP: (949) 574-3860E: HCIC@gatewayir.com
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against 9F Inc. ("9F" or "the Company") (NASDAQ: JFU) for violations of the federal securities laws.
Investors who purchased the Company's securities pursuant and/or traceable to the Company's August 14, 2019 initial public offering (the "IPO"), or between August 14, 2019 and September 29, 2020, are encouraged to contact the firm before March 22, 2021.
If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.
We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2460, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com, or by email at brian@schallfirm.com.
The class, in this case, has not yet been certified, and until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member.
According to the Complaint, the Company made false and misleading statements to the market. 9F touted value and benefits to its financial institution partners and tri-party cooperation business model that did not exist. In fact, the Company and Property and Casualty Company Limited ("PICC") were engaged in an ongoing dispute regarding payment of service fees. The Company's collectability of service fees from PICC was at serious risk of non-payment. There was also significant risk that PICC would discontinue credit insurance and guarantee protection to investors and institutional funding partners. Based on these facts, the Company's public statements were false and materially misleading throughout the class period. When the market learned the truth about 9F, investors suffered damages.
Join the case to recover your losses.
The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation.
This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.
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