NASA will make a second attempt to launch its powerful new rocket to the moon next Saturday after canceling a test flight earlier this week, an official at the US space agency said.
The launch was scheduled for Monday morning (29), but was canceled because the test to get one of the rocket’s four RS-25 engines to reach the proper temperature for takeoff was unsuccessful.
Mike Sarafin, responsible for NASA’s Artemis 1 mission, announced the date of the new launch attempt – a key step in the US program that aims to return astronauts to the Moon – at a press conference on Tuesday (30).
Artemis 1’s target, named after the twin sister of the mythological god Apollo, will test the 98-meter rocket with the Space Launch System and the Orion capsule, adapted for the crew, at its highest point.
The mission does not carry crew members, but mannequins equipped with sensors that will record acceleration, vibration and radiation levels.
Tens of thousands of people, including US Vice President Kamala Harris, gathered to watch the launch, which comes 50 years after the Apollo 17 astronauts last set foot on the Moon.
