NASA cancels first Artemis I launch attempt
Artemis I is a flight test to launch NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and an uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon before the Artemis II mission with astronauts aboard.
The approximately two-day countdown for launch began Saturday, Aug. 27, and was waved off Monday after encountering an issue getting one of the four RS-25 engines on the bottom of the rocket’s core stage to the proper temperature range for lift-off.
In the video below, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson provides brief remarks shortly after the scrub was announced.
NASA will hold a media teleconference at 6pm EDT Tuesday, Aug. 30, to discuss the flight test of the agency’s mega Moon rocket and uncrewed Orion spacecraft, currently at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, ahead of the Artemis I lunar mission.
Through Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of colour on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.