space travel
NASA cancels ground test of lunar missile system again
The US space agency Nasa is testing the rocket system for the “Artemis” mission. Photo: Chris O’meara/AP/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Next setback for the US space agency Nasa: Another test of the “Artemis” rocket system failed – and not for the first time. When can another attempt be started?
For the third time, an unmanned ground test of a new moon rocket system by the US space agency Nasa has been aborted.
NASA said there was a problem with a leak at the Cape Canaveral spaceport. Another attempt may be made next week. The test of the “Artemis” missile system had previously been canceled twice due to different problems.
The rocket system for the “Artemis” mission – consisting of the “Space Launch System” rocket and the “Orion” capsule – was deployed for the first time in Cape Canaveral in the US state of Florida in mid-March for test purposes. The next step is the “Wet Dress Rehearsal”, which has now been canceled again. All processes are rehearsed up to the actual start.
With the “Artemis” mission, US astronauts were supposed to land on the moon again by 2024, including a woman for the first time. Due to numerous delays, this is now planned for 2025 at the earliest. Four astronauts are to be taken into lunar orbit in the Orion spacecraft, where two of them will then transfer to a landing vehicle. A kind of space station is also to be created on the moon, also as a basis for a manned flight to Mars – but that will only happen in the distant future.