In a setback to its plan to return people to the Moon and eventually Mars, NASA has cancelled a test flight of its potent new rocket. However, it may try again on Friday.
In a setback to its plan to return people to the Moon and eventually Mars, NASA has cancelled a test flight of its potent new rocket. However, it may try again on Friday.
After Monday's mission from Florida's Kennedy Space Center was postponed due to an engine problem, NASA administrator Bill Nelson remarked, "We don't launch until it's right."
This is a very sophisticated machine, Nelson said. She advised waiting until the candle was ready to burn before lighting it.
The 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion crew capsule that sit on top will be tested as part of the mission, which has been given the name Artemis 1 after the twin sister of Apollo.
The trip is unmanned; instead of astronauts, sensor-equipped mannequins will report the amounts of acceleration, vibration, and radiation.
The space agency hopes to attempt another launch later this week, according to Mike Sarafin, the mission manager of Artemis 1.
Friday is absolutely up for grabs, according to Sarafin.
After the management team meeting on Tuesday, NASA would know more about the viability of a Friday launch, he said.
Sarafin remarked, "We just need a little bit more time to look at the facts.
It will launch on September 5 instead of next Monday.
The launch of Blastoff, which was scheduled for 8:33 am (12:33 GMT), was postponed due to the failure of a test meant to bring one of the rocket's four RS-25 engines up to the correct temperature range for launch.
Nelson acknowledged that delays are "part of the space business" and expressed confidence that NASA engineers will "repair it and then we'll fly."
Tens of thousands of people had gathered to watch the launch, which occurred 50 years after the Apollo 17 astronauts last set foot on the Moon. Among them was US Vice President Kamala Harris.
We will go back to the Moon, and our commitment to the Artemis Program is still strong," Harris tweeted.
Veteran NASA astronaut Stan Love expressed his disappointment to reporters, adding that he was "not really shocked."
Love declared, "This is a brand-new automobile. There are a million parts to it. They must all perform flawlessly.
Unusual temperatures
There was a slight risk of lightning during the overnight procedures to feed the orange-and-white rocket with extremely cold liquid hydrogen and oxygen.
The primary stage's hydrogen filling was halted when a suspected leak was discovered. Following tests, the flow continued.
Later, NASA engineers found the issue with the engine temperature and decided to cancel the launch.
To determine whether the Orion spacecraft is soon safe for habitation, it will orbit the Moon. Artemis plans to place a woman and a person of colour on the Moon for the first time at some point in the future.
Orion will travel 42 days around the Moon, covering 40,000 miles (60,000 kilometres) at its furthest point and 60 miles (100 kilometres) at its closest point. This is the furthest space a human-carrying spacecraft has ever travelled.
Testing the capsule's heat shield, the largest one ever built at 16 feet in diameter, is one of the key goals.
The heat shield will have to endure speeds of 25,000 miles per hour and temperatures of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius) on its return to Earth's atmosphere, which is nearly half as hot as the Sun.
Crewed Mars expedition
The Artemis programme, which is already years behind schedule, is anticipated to cost NASA $93 billion between 2012 and 2025, or $4.1 billion for each launch.
In the upcoming Artemis 2 mission, astronauts will orbit the Moon rather than touch down there.
The earliest that the Artemis 3 crew will set foot on the Moon is 2025.
Additionally, Artemis has its eyes set on a crewed voyage to Mars given that humans have already visited the Moon.
The Gateway orbiting space station and a facility on the surface are part of the Artemis program's effort to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon.
For a trip to the Red Planet that would take at least many months, Gateway would act as a staging and refuelling station.
