The mission managers will meet to review the next steps and decide whether a launch on Monday or Tuesday is feasible or whether the rocket stack needs to be hauled back into the Vehicle Assembly Building, according to NASA administrator Bill Nelson. Artemis I won't have another launch opportunity until October if it is brought back into the building, with mid-October being the most likely date given the launchpad's schedule.
The space agency's effort to launch the crewless Orion capsule on a new timetable on Saturday afternoon was initially aborted at 9 a.m. ET as technicians started working to stop a hydrogen fuel leak in the rocket's engine section. Technical difficulties led to launch delays on Saturday, depriving spectators in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and throughout the nation of a sight not seen by Americans in more than 50 years: the launch of a NASA mission to launch astronauts to the moon. On Monday, August 29, the initial launch attempt took place, and a similar situation developed.
At Florida's Kennedy Space Center, where the Apollo missions launched from in the 1960s and 1970s, the NASA rocket was scheduled to launch the Artemis I mission on Monday. That troubleshooting strategy did not work. The team tried the first strategy once more to warm up the line, but after manually restarting the flow of liquid hydrogen, the leak returned.
Melody Lovin, a weather officer, stated that there was a 60% chance of good weather for the launch. At the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Artemis I stack, which consists of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, is still present.
On September 5 and 6, there is still a backup window for the Artemis I mission to lift off. The Artemis I mission is only the first phase of a programme that will eventually aim to send crewed trips to Mars and return people to the moon.
Posted on 16th Aug 2022