“We have agreed to change our takeoff date to Saturday, September 3,” Mike Sarafin, Artemis 1 mission manager, told a press conference on Tuesday.
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The new test is becoming clearer. NASA announces, Tuesday August 30, that it will attempt to launch its new mega-rocket for the Moon on Saturday, after a first failed attempt on Monday due to a technical problem.
“We have agreed to change our take-off date to Saturday, September 3”, declared during a press conference Mike Sarafin, in charge of the Artemis 1 mission, which should mark the beginning of the American program to return to the Moon fifty years after the last flight of Apollo. On Monday, Mike Safarin spoke “Friday’s Option” for a new takeoff, as well as another launch window on September 5. Then, the possibility of take-off will be interrupted until September 19.
Several problems prevented the launch of the Artemis mission rocket on Monday. The filling of the rocket’s tanks with its ultra-cold fuel had started about an hour late because of a risk of lightning. Then, a leak caused a pause during the filling of the main stage with hydrogen. Around 7 a.m., a new, decisive problem appeared: one of the four RS-25 engines, under the main stage of the rocket, could not reach the desired temperature – a necessary condition to be able to to light up. A valve problem was also encountered, said Mike Sarafin. The countdown was then stopped and, after more than an hour of waiting, NASA launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson made the final decision to cancel.