NASA halted the first attempt of Artemis I launch on August 29 due to a problem with the rocket’s engine.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, announced over the weekend that it will forego additional launch attempts of its test lunar space mission Artemis I in early September.
The decision came after the U.S. space agency scrubbed the second launch attempt due to a leak in the hydrogen line used in the core tank of Space Launch System. The gigantic SLS rocket will be rolled back to the vehicle assembly building before the next launch attempt.
“To meet the requirement by the Eastern Range for the certification on the flight termination system, currently set at 25 days, NASA will need to roll the rocket and spacecraft back to the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) before the next launch attempt to reset the system’s batteries,” NASA said in a blog. “The flight termination system is required on all rockets to protect public safety.
During the second launch attempt on September 3, NASA engineers saw a leak in a cavity between the ground side and rocket side plates surrounding an 8-inch line used to fill and drain liquid hydrogen from the SLS rocket. After three attempts to fix the issue, the mission was called off.
According to a report by the Indian Express, “if the launch is postponed to October, it will probably only happen in the second week because SpaceX’s Crew 5 mission to the International Space Station is scheduled for the first week of October.”
The space agency halted the first attempt of Artemis I launch on August 29 due to a problem with the rocket’s engine.
NASA’s Artemis I mission will be an uncrewed flight test of the gigantic Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft around the Moon. With a motley crew of mannequins and biological experiments in the Artemis 1 mission, the U.S. wants to build a sustained human presence on the Earth’s only natural satellite, and use the lessons gained from the mission to eventually plan a trip to Mars.
