NASA rocket launch moves forward – again

“The launch manager blew up the Artemis 1 launch today. Several attempts to fix the leak . . . did not resolve the issue,” NASA wrote in a statement.

The moon rocket was supposed to be launched on Saturday evening Swedish time, and it is estimated that about 400,000 people had gathered nearby to see and hear the launch.

“Incredibly advanced machines”

According to astronaut Victor Glover, moving forward was the right decision.

– These are really advanced machines, he says.

Postponing the launch again is a prestige loss for a space program that has already been badly delayed and has become billions of dollars more expensive than planned.

It is not clear when the next attempt will be

The launch was originally scheduled for Monday morning, August 29, but was postponed after NASA engineers discovered a fuel leak and an overheating engine.

It is still not clear when the next launch will be attempted. The project’s working group will meet later Saturday local time. It needs to be determined whether another launch attempt can be made in the near future, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says.

Artemis 1 is a test of future manned missions to the Moon. There will be no humans on board, but there will be three human-like dolls. If all goes well, NASA hopes to be able to put people back on the moon again, including the first female astronaut, by 2025 at the earliest.