Second try
Nasa cancels the start of the “Artemis” moon mission again
NASA’s new moon rocket stands on Pad 39B in front of the Artemis-1 moon-orbiting mission at Kennedy Space Center
© Brynn Anderson/AP/DPA
Shortly before the planned start, the maiden flight of the new US moon rocket has been postponed again. The reason is a fuel leak, as the US space agency Nasa announced on Saturday.
The US space agency Nasa has also canceled the second attempt to launch an unmanned moon mission. The launch director of “Artemis I”, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, canceled the attempt a few hours before the scheduled launch on Saturday, a spokesman said. NASA had previously confirmed a leak in a fuel hose. Several attempts to solve this problem had failed. The start was planned in a two-hour time window from 8:17 p.m. German time.
Artemis: Already the second failed attempt
A first attempt to start “Artemis I” was also aborted last Monday due to a tank leak. In addition, one engine could not be cooled down to the required temperature. In addition to Saturday, NASA also named Monday, September 5th, as other possible start dates. The unmanned SLS rocket is designed to launch an Orion capsule into space. The Orion capsule will then orbit the moon at a distance of around one hundred kilometers. The Artemis 1 mission is expected to last several weeks.
Among other things, Germany is making a contribution to the NASA mission with the Orion service and propulsion module, which is mainly built in Germany. The follow-up mission Artemis 2 should bring astronauts into a lunar orbit, with Artemis 3 a moon landing should succeed at the earliest in 2025.