A Failure To Launch: Nasa Postpones Artemis 1 Moon Mission Due To Engine Problems

Nasa is delaying a decision on the timing of its next launch attempt for Artemis 1, the US space agency’s first human-rated moon rocket in 50 years, after calling off yesterday's scheduled lift-off-late in the countdown because of an “engine bleed”.

- Richard Luscombe

Engineers at Nasa’s launch complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida, discovered the problem with one of the four core-stage engines of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket during overnight loading of 2.76m litres (730,000 gallons) of liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel needed to send the spacecraft off on its 1.3m -mile, 42-day journey to the far side of the moon and back.

They were unable to find a fix in time to meet a two-hour launch window that opened at 8.33am (1.33pm BST) yesterday, and they are now troubleshooting the issue to assess readiness for the next available opportunity on Friday 2 September.

“Friday is definitely in play. We just need a little bit of time to look at the data, but the team is setting up for a 96-hour recycle,” Mike Sarafin, Nasa’s Artemis mission manager, told a lunchtime press conference.

“We’re going to play all nine innings. We’re not giving up yet.”

Sarafin said no decision could be made until mission managers conducted a readiness review beginning this afternoon, noting that he did not believe the problem was with the engine itself, but in the bleed system that “conditions” it with cryogenic propellant and adjusts the temperature for launch.