After calling off an Artemis rocket launch yesterday, NASA officials hope to try again this weekend.
The space agency is targeting a Friday launch window after Monday’s failed attempt.
The Artemis 1 test flight was scheduled to take off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, but was canceled by the launch director due to a temperature problem in one of the engines.
Artemis mission manager Michael Sarafin said the team also faced problems over the weekend, including lightning strikes and fuel leaks.
After the launch was delayed, he told a NASA news conference that the team was “not ready to give up” and that the earliest time for the next attempt would be 1 p.m. Friday.
When asked how realistic it is to expect another attempt soon, Sarafin said: I really need time to check all the information. Play all nine innings here. He’s not ready to give up just yet.
US Vice President Kamala Harris was among those waiting to lift off at the Space Center on Monday.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told a news conference: “The vice president was here. He was pumping the whole time.”
“He’s very excited about our space program and this particular plan to go back to the moon and go to Mars.”
The 322ft (98m) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the most powerful rocket ever created, will launch the Orion capsule with Airbus’ European Service Module (ESM) into lunar orbit.
Regarding the launch delay, Nelson said: It doesn’t fly until it’s ready.
“There are millions of components in this rocket and its systems, and when you put them all in the spotlight on the counter, of course, the complexity is staggering.
The flight, which carries mannequins instead of astronauts, is the first time humans have returned to the moon and the first for NASA’s Artemis program.
The first manned spaceflight is scheduled for 2024, with people on board for future missions.
The UK is part of the Artemis programme, which works with the US, Europe, Canada and Japan to contribute to the Moongate space station, currently under development with the European Space Agency.
British Space Agency Chief Executive Paul Bate said it will be crazy when the rocket finally takes off.
After Monday’s attempt, he wrote on Twitter:
“But that’s the problem, isn’t it? We’re pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and discovery.
And when you drop it, it goes crazy.
To the moon, Mars and beyond.
#Artemide 1 Today’s grater.
Is not easy. rocket science. 🚀
But that’s a problem, isn’t it? We are pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and discovery.
And when you drop it, it goes crazy.
To the moon, Mars and beyond. @espaciogovuk @NASA Artemis
—Paul Bate (@paul_bate) August 29, 2022
Humans last landed on the moon about 50 years ago, and their latest mission is to prove that humans can travel longer and more sustainably.
We will also assess whether it is possible to build infrastructure on and around the Moon that would allow humans to survive on another planetary body.
The mission will last 42 days, 3 hours and 20 minutes and will cover a total of 1.3 million miles.
Source: Metro
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