The next windows of opportunity to send the moon rocket are Friday or Monday.
The NASA Artemis I launch was scheduled to take place early Monday, but a hydrogen fuel leak and other problems have delayed the launch to a later date. The launch, which would have been from Cape Canaveral, is part of the mission to return Americans to the moon for the first time in almost five decades.
The launch team discovered an issue with an engine believed to be engine number 3. Attempts to reconfigure it were unsuccessful. During engine bleeds, hydrogen is cycled through the engine to condition it for launch. The other three engines performed as expected. The launch team must troubleshoot the engine issue and will keep the rocket in its current configuration to gather data and assess what needs to be done.
“We don’t launch until it’s right,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said after the scrub. “They’ve got a problem with the gases going on the engine bleed on one engine. It’s just illustrative that this is a very complicated machine, a very complicated system, and all those things have to work. You don’t light the candle until it’s ready to go.”
The unmanned launch is the first test run of systems the space agency will use in its return to the moon. If all goes well with the Artemis I mission, the hope is a flight with astronauts going around the moon in 2024, with a lunar landing in 2025.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Administrator Nelson to have wisdom regarding the launch of the Artemis I.
- For NASA engineers to be successful in resolving the engine issue.
- For discernment for NASA officials as they set the launch schedule and the mission time tables.
Sources: CNN, Washington Examiner
