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| Photo Credit: AP. |
NASA postponed the launch of its Artemis 1 moon rocket Monday over engine failure. The agency announced the decision to cancel flight operations for the historic spacecraft mission to the lunar surface on twitter.
"The
launch of #Artemis I is no longer happening today as teams work through an
issue with an engine bleed.
"Teams
will continue to gather data, and we will keep you posted on the timing of the
next launch attempt," NASA wrote.
Another attempt
at launching the spacecraft will take place Friday but could be delayed until
mid-September or even later, The Associated Press reported.
The mission will
be NASA’s first in its Artemis project, an operation designed to put back
astronauts on the moon after 50 years since the end of the Apollo program,
according to The Associated Press.
On its live
blog for the Artemis launch, NASA provided more detail about the postponement.
"The launch director halted today's Artemis I launch attempt at
approximately 8:34 a.m. EDT," NASA said on its live blog for the Artemis
launch, Newsweek reports.
"The
Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft remain in a safe and stable
configuration. Launch controllers were continuing to evaluate why a bleed test
to get the RS-25 engines on the bottom of the core stage to the proper
temperature range for liftoff was not successful, and ran out of time in the
two-hour launch window, according to Newsweek.
NASA repeatedly stopped and started the fueling of the Space Launch System rocket following a leak of highly explosive hydrogen which succeeded in reducing the seepage, according to The Associated Press. A similar leak happened in the located during a dress-rehearsal in the spring.
Engineers struggled to identify the source of the engine trouble as well as procedures to effectively cool one of the rocket’s four main engines even after the announcement of flight cancellations.