Fuel Leak Delays Launch of NASA’s Artemis Moon Rocket for Weeks

A fuel leak forced NASA to scrub Saturday’s planned launch of the Artemis moon rocket.

A fuel leak forced NASA to scrub Saturday’s planned launch of the Artemis moon rocket. Repairs are expected to delay the next attempt for weeks.

Both Saturday’s launch and the initial attempt on Monday had to be canceled due to fuel leaks. Artemis I is powered by more than 1 million gallons of super-cooled liquid hydrogen propellant.
NASA engineers plan to inspect the rocket and make repairs, which is expected to take several weeks and could delay a third attempt into late September or October.
Artemis I is an unmanned test rocket designed to travel to the moon and back. The Artemis program is the modern-day successor of the Apollo lunar program.
Should Artemis I succeed in its mission, NASA plans to send astronauts to orbit the moon in 2024 with the goal of landing on the moon for the first time in a half-century in 2025.
The launch of Artemis I is the initial phase of a NASA program that aims to return people to the moon for the first time since 1972

The New York Times noted delays of major launches are common. SpaceX’s first NASA-manned launch and the space shuttle Endeavor both had multiple delays before successful launches.
CNN explained why NASA decided it was time to return to the moon. The Artemis program, heir to the famed Apollo program of the 1960s and 1970s, aims to explore the lunar south pole for the first time and “establish a sustained presence on the moon and create reusable systems that can enable human exploration of Mars and perhaps beyond.”
The Washington Post wrote the Artemis program was established by the Trump Administration with the goal of establishing a permanent American presence “on and around the moon.”

Should the 32-story-tall rocket’s 37-day flight be successful, NASA plans to land the first woman on the moon in 2025, according to FOX News.
The Wall Street Journal published an in-depth guide to the Space Launch System, “NASA’s most powerful rocket ever.”
Breitbart reported the estimated cost of each 1.3 million-mile Artemis Mission is approximately $4.1 billion.

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