Space enthusiasts in Florida disappointed by NASA launch second cancelation

Space enthusiasts who flocked to Titusville, Florida, to get a glimpse of NASA's Artemis 1 rocket launch to the Moon, pack up their belongings and leave after the second attempt to launch the 30-story rocket off the ground was canceled because of a fuel leak.

After scrapping a second attempt to get its new 30-story lunar rocket off the ground due to a fuel leak, NASA officials said Saturday it may not be possible to try again this month.

The current launch window for NASA's Artemis 1 mission to the Moon ends Tuesday and is "definitely off the table," said Jim Free, associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development, at a press conference Saturday.

The next possible launch window is September 19 to October 4, and failing that, October 17 to 31, NASA said. The ability to take off during those windows "will really depend on the options that the team comes back with likely on Monday or early Tuesday morning," said Free.

The Artemis 1 space mission hopes to test the SLS as well as the unmanned Orion capsule that sits atop, in preparation for future Moon-bound journeys with humans aboard.

The first launch attempt on Monday had also been halted after engineers detected a fuel leak and a sensor showed that one of the rocket's four main engines was too hot.

"This is a whole new vehicle, a whole new technology, a whole new purpose of going back to the moon and preparation to go to Mars," said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. "Yes, it's hard."

Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin described the hydrogen leak as "large," and said one of their "leading suspects" was a seal on a fueling tube.

Engineering teams believe they will have to replace the seal, either directly on the launch pad or after taking the rocket back to its assembly building a few miles away.

It was "too early" to entirely rule out a launch before the end of September, said Sarafin, who promised a status update next week.

NASA has previously said that the early October period would be complicated to coordinate because a crew of astronauts will be using the Kennedy Space Center for a rocket launch to the International Space Station.

In addition to the leak, another problem facing the SLS is its emergency self-destruct system. Designed to explode in case the rocket deviates off course, the system will likely need to be reexamined before the next launch, which can only be done in the assembly building.

Bringing the rocket in and out of the building will take "several weeks," Sarafin said.

(Source: AFP) 

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