US NASA Likely to Delay Artemis Launch for 'First Moon Exploration in 50 Years' to October

Countdown Halted Due to Liquid Hydrogen Leak Issue
Concerns Over Delays in 2024 Crewed Flight and 2025 Female and Minority Moon Landing Schedule

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy International Desk Reporter] Amid another failed rocket launch attempt for the Artemis I mission, a crewed lunar exploration project occurring for the first time in 50 years, projections indicate the launch attempt may be postponed until October.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced on the 3rd (local time) that it detected a leak of the fuel, liquid hydrogen, from the lower part of the engine of the Artemis I mission rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), and halted the countdown. The launch team discovered the issue while filling the rocket’s fuel tank with approximately 1 million gallons (3.78 million liters) of cryogenic liquid hydrogen fuel at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, that morning.

Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the director responsible for the launch, declared the flight cancellation at 11:17 a.m. Eastern Time, and the countdown clock stopped at 2 hours, 28 minutes, and 53 seconds.

Previously, on the 29th of last month, NASA attempted to launch the SLS but postponed the first launch after discovering fuel leak issues, engine temperature sensor defects, and insulation cracks.

Although the schedule for a third launch attempt has not been immediately disclosed, it is expected that resolving the defects will take until mid-October at the earliest. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson mentioned that the rocket, currently on the launch pad, might be moved back to the assembly building for technical repairs, which would push the next launch to late October.

Artemis is a crewed lunar exploration program resuming after 50 years since Apollo 17’s moon landing in 1972. This mission is the first phase, launching the most powerful large rocket built by NASA, the SLS, carrying the capsule 'Orion' with a mannequin instead of a human.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Orion is scheduled to complete a round trip flight lasting over a month to the moon and then splash down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, California. Through this, NASA aimed to verify that the spacecraft and equipment are properly built to ensure astronauts can safely travel to and from the moon. A mannequin made of materials similar to the human body was even created to simulate an actual astronaut.

However, this mission failure inevitably causes delays in the overall schedule. The original plan was to conduct the second phase, the crewed flight, in 2024, and the third phase, the first moon landing by female and minority astronauts, in 2025.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.