A new launch date has been set for Saturday, September 3.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA announced Tuesday evening that the launch of the Artemis I mission would be minorly delayed as engineers work to resolve issues identified during Monday's scrubbed launch at Kennedy Space Center.
A new launch date has been set for Saturday, September 3, a day later than what was expected to be the next available launch time. The two-hour launch window will open at 2:17 p.m. Saturday.
The space agency repeatedly stopped and started fueling of the Space Launch System rocket Monday morning once identifying a leak of liquid hydrogen. Another issue arose when one of the RS-25 engines was not cooling properly.
Moments later, yet another hydrogen leak was noticed on a vent valve higher up on the rocket.
The combination of issues lead Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson to scrub the launch for the day at 8:34 a.m., knowing they would not be resolved before the two-hour launch window closed at 10:33 a.m.
The engine cooling issue was later determined to be the fault of the plumbing leading to the engine, not the engine itself.
Adding onto the timing problems, fueling was already briefly delayed because of thunderstorms off the Space Coast during the overnight hours.
“This is a very complicated machine, a very complicated system, and all those things have to work, and you don’t want to light the candle until it’s ready to go,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
The Artemis I mission is the first in a series of missions to return humans to the Moon and eventually to Mars. The unmanned mission is designed for scientists to test the hardware and technology, ensuring safety for future astronauts.
The planned 43-day operation will most notably test the heat shield on the Orion spacecraft, along with other key objectives. At the conclusion of the mission, the Orion spacecraft is slated to splash down west of San Diego in the Pacific Ocean.
Teams will recover the spacecraft and transport it back to Kennedy Space Center to study for future missions.
Artemis II, which will be first crewed mission of the series, is expected to happen in 2024. Artemis III, which will feature a moon landing, could happen as early as 2025.
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