SLS Launch Canceled Due To Engine Problems
The launch of Artemis 1 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was canceled as the agency rushed to fix a problem with the rocket’s engines.
“It’s too early to say what the options are,” Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission leader, said at a press conference. “We really need time to go through all the information, all the data. We’re not ready to give up yet.”
The next opportunity to send the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft on a journey to the Earth’s satellite will be on September 2. But whether another attempt is made that day depends on how the tests go.
Launch controllers continued to evaluate why a test to bleed the PC-25 engines in the lower main stage to the proper temperature range for launch was not successful and timed out in the two-hour launch window. Engineers continue to gather additional data.
At present, the problem does not indicate an engine problem, but rather a problem in the bleed system that is used to cool the engine, a spokesperson for the space agency said.
