NASA calls off second launch retry for Artemis moon rocket
For the second time in five days, NASA on Saturday (Sep 3) halted a countdown in progress and...
NASA's next-generation moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) with the Orion crew capsule perched on top, stands on launch complex 39B as it is prepared for launch for the Artemis 1 mission at Cape Canaveral, Florida on Sep 3, 2022.
For the second time in five days, NASA on Saturday (Sep 3) halted a countdown in progress and postponed a planned attempt to launch the debut test flight of its giant, next-generation rocket, the first mission of the agency's moon-to-Mars Artemis program.
The latest attempt to launch the 32-story-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and its Orion capsule was scrubbed after repeated attempts by technicians to correct a leak of super-cooled liquid hydrogen propellant being pumped into the vehicle's core-stage fuel tanks.
Besides struggling to remedy the leak itself, the difficulty caused mission managers to fall behind in the countdown, leaving too little time to complete pre-launch preparations before liftoff.
Pre-flight operations were called off for the day about three hours before the targeted two-hour launch window was due to open at 2.17pm EDT (1817 GMT).
There was no immediate word on a time frame for retrying to launch the mission, dubbed Artemis I. But NASA could schedule another attempt for Monday or Tuesday.
