After cancelling a test flight earlier this week, NASA will attempt to launch its potent new Moon rocket again on Saturday, an official said.
Blastoff was scheduled to launch on Monday morning but was postponed due to the failure of a test meant to bring one of the rocket’s four RS-25 engines up to the required temperature range for the launch.
The date for the new launch attempt, a crucial milestone in the US ambition to send men back to the Moon, was revealed by Mike Sarafin, mission manager of Artemis 1 at NASA, at a Tuesday media briefing.
The purpose of Artemis 1, which is named after Apollo’s twin sister, is to test the Orion crew capsule and the 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket.
The trip is unmanned; instead of astronauts, sensor-equipped mannequins will report the amounts of acceleration, vibration, and radiation.
The launch, which comes 50 years after the last Moon landing by Apollo 17 astronauts, attracted tens of thousands of spectators, including US Vice President Kamala Harris.
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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.
(with inputs from agencies)
