NASA cancels Artemis lunar rocket launch again

The planned launch of the Artemis unmanned rocket has been postponed again. This is the second time in five days that NASA has canceled a lunar mission shortly before departure due to technical issues. This time there was a fuel leak.

It is another setback for the prestigious US space project. The nearly 100-meter-long rocket is the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built. The test flight alone is worth more than $4 billion. The launch would have also been a milestone for ESA: ESA is making an important contribution.

The leak was detected while filling a tank with liquid hydrogen that acts as an engine coolant. Engineers could not solve the problem in time. On urgent advice from NASA’s launch teams, the last launch attempt was cancelled.

release It was scheduled tonight, Dutch time. The missile had to be launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It is not yet clear when NASA will try again. If problems prove persistent, the exercise mission may be postponed by a month, the Associated Press writes. But it is too early to say whether major reforms are needed.

On Monday, NASA also encountered technical problems. Until then there was a hydrogen leak, but in a different place in the rocket. It also appears that there is a faulty temperature sensor, but now it is clear that this device is still working properly. Due to problems, the first launch attempt was cancelled.

The task of the unmanned Artemis I is to conduct a comprehensive test of all systems. The next mission (Artemis II), scheduled for 2024, will feature four astronauts. Only with Artemis III will a moon landing be attempted. The last time this was done was fifty years ago.