NASA cancels launch of giant Moon rocket

NASA cancels launch of giant Moon rocket
August 29, 2022, 6:41 pm

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur gives her son, Theodore Behnken and husband, Bob Behnken who is also an astronaut, a virtual hug as she arrives for the boarding of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon capsule, before the launch of the NASA commercial crew mission at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 23, 2021. (Reuters)

The US space agency said in a statement, NASA canceled its Artemis I mission to the Moon on Monday (August 29) after engineers discovered an engine malfunction at the last moment.

One of the core stage engines failed to be properly conditioned as the giant spacecraft was preparing to blast off to space, according to the RT, the statement said.

Conditioning is needed to bring the engines to the “proper temperature” to eventually start them, it added.

According to NASA, the issue could not have been rectified on the spot. Engineers are now “looking at options to gather as much data as possible” to get to the bottom of the issue, the agency added.

Additionally, a “crack in the thermal protection system material” of the spacecraft’s core stage was discovered.

The 100-meter-tall rocket – the biggest ever developed by NASA – is in “a stable, safe condition,” the space agency said.

This screen grab taken from the NASA live feed shows the SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft at 20 meters of the docking access of the International Space Station on April 24. (AFP)

The next available opportunity to launch could be on September 2, if the engine bleed issue is fixed, Derrol Nail, a NASA launch commentator and producer, told journalists.

Monday's launch would have been the first mission of the Artemis program, an ambitious project by the American space agency focused on lunar exploration and bringing humans back to the Moon's surface.

NASA reveals 13 areas on Moon as possible landing points

The Artemis I mission would have been an uncrewed test and demonstration flight around and beyond the Moon. If successful, it would be followed by a similar crewed mission dubbed Artemis II.

Earlier in August, NASA reported identifying as many as 13 potential landing spots on the Moon for its Artemis program. However, US astronauts are expected to step foot there no sooner than in 2025.

Source: rt

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