Delayed start
NASA aims for next Saturday as new start date for “Artemis” moon flight
NASA names next Saturday as the “earliest” new start date for the “Artemis I” mission.
© Mark Felix / AFP
NASA continues to work on the launch of the “Artemis I” flight. Now the mission control has in mind the coming Saturday. Changes in the starting process should bring the solution.
After the failed start of the unmanned lunar flight “Artemis”, the American space agency NASA now sees next Saturday as the next possible start date. After the problems on Monday, the team decided to change the fuel loading process, Mission Manager Mike Sarafin said Tuesday (local time).
The start failed due to an engine leak, a too high temperature of one of the four engines and weather problems. Now the motors have to be cooled down earlier in the starting process, shared the NASA Of.
“Artemis”: Not sure to start on Saturday either
The start on Saturday afternoon (local time) from the Cape Canaveral spaceport is by no means certain. It can still be canceled due to the weather, it said. At 2:17 PM (8:17 PM German time) a two-hour window for a possible start begins; the meteorologists are currently still optimistic for this time. Originally, NASA named Friday and Monday as starting alternatives.
The unmanned test flight “Artemis I”, lasting about 40 days, is intended to usher in the return to manned flights to the moon. NASA wants to send people there again with its “Artemis II” mission by 2025 at the earliest, including a woman and a non-white for the first time. There were already problems with previous tests and the original schedule was delayed. The “Artemis” flights should eventually also serve as preparation for manned missions to Mars.