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Launch of Artemis I 'mega rocket' scrubbed for Monday, next possible launch date on Friday [1]

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Date: 2022-08-29

The first crew-rated rocket to the Moon in 50 years has been sitting on the pad at Kennedy Space Center for over a week, with the first launch window opening Monday at 8:33 AM EDT. However as the liquid oxygen and hydrogen were being loaded into the rocket, an apparent leak was discovered while conducting the engine bleed. NASA placed the launch on hold at T-40, and after an evaluation of just over half an hour decided to scrub Monday’s launch.

Artemis I is the result of 11 years of planning to create the most powerful rocket ever launched. The planned mission will carry the Orion capsule around the Moon on a voyage lasting nearly a month before returning to splash down in the Pacific. For this mission, the rocket will not carry a crew. However, if all goes well, a four-person crew will be on board for a similar flight of Artemis II, using an even more powerful version of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, in two years time. And by 2025, the plan is to launch Artemis III, which would see people actually return to the surface of the Moon—including the first woman and person of color on the Moon.

The leak appears to be associated with one of the four liquid-fueled engines at the bottom of the SLS. These are engines from the Space Shuttle. Not just engines like those that flew on the shuttle, but actual engines recovered from the shuttles after that program ended. They’ve been updated and retrofitted, and this point they’ve all been through lengthy test fires. A similar issue to the one that caused Monday’s scrub occurred during an earlier engine bleed test. Hopefully, the issue will be resolved and Artemis I can still launch at the next opportunity.

A link to NASA’s live broadcast of the event can be found below. The next launch opportunity is Sept. 2, assuming the issue is sorted out quickly. At this point, the rocket is expected to remain on the pad.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/29/2119463/-Launch-of-Artemis-I-mega-rocket-scrubbed-for-Monday-next-possible-launch-date-on-Friday

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