Space: takeoff of the Artemis mission to the Moon postponed for a second time

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft on board, atop the mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B, Tuesday, August 30, 2022, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. © AP - Joel Kowsky

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

We will have to wait a little longer to see the mega-rocket of NASA's Artemis mission take off for the Moon.

The launch was once again canceled at the last moment, this Saturday, September 3, due to a fuel leak.

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With our special correspondent at Kennedy Space Center, Florida,

David Thomson

This is obviously

another disappointment

at Kennedy Space Center.

The first launch attempt of Artemis was canceled on Monday due to an engine problem.

This Saturday, a fuel leak prevented the SLS mega-rocket from taking off from its launch pad 39B.

This leak was detected during the filling of three million liters of cryogenic fuel.

It is located on one of the two tanks of the mega-rocket, the liquid hydrogen tank.

NASA teams have raced against the clock to plug the leak to prevent the delay from building up and eating into the two-hour shooting window, which was to open at 2:17 p.m.

Without success: after the failure of the third repair attempt, NASA engineers ended up giving a recommendation of "No Go".

For the second time, the launch director, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, therefore made a difficult decision: no

takeoff for the Moon

on this day.

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