The third launch attempt of the Artemis I mission, which is supposed to send a US rocket to the moon, is canceled due to bad weather.
After it was already up for discussion yesterday, Saturday, NASA officials are canceling the launch of the giant SLS rocket, which was planned for Tuesday next week. The main cause is the weather: Tropical storm Ian spoiled the third launch attempt of the Artemis I mission.
Demolition with back door
NASA executive Jim Free tweeted that the Sept. 27 launch would not be attempted after all due to the high-quality weather forecast. The SLS rocket is now being prepared to return to the hangar to protect staff and equipment.
Those responsible have postponed the final decision as to whether the employees will get the rocket back into the workshop until this Sunday. This enables employees to consider the needs of their families. This also keeps the back door open, but attempting a launch should weather conditions improve.
The first attempts to launch the SLS rocket had to be canceled due to technical problems. There were leaks in the tanks. Smaller leaks also occurred during the refueling test earlier this week, but these did not endanger the mission.
Ambitious project
With the Artemis I mission, NASA wants to send an unmanned rocket to the moon again and test the Orion space capsule, which is to orbit the Earth’s satellite for several weeks. The abbreviation SLS stands for the “Space Launch System”. The newly developed heavy-duty system is considered the most powerful rocket after the Saturn V of the Apollo program.
The further development steps include the Artemis II mission, in which people are supposed to orbit the moon again. In the middle of the decade, Artemis-III is supposed to make the first human moon landing in more than 50 years.
