By T.K. Randall
September 26, 2022 · 22 comments
Things have not gone according to plan. Image Credit: NASA / Joel Kowsky
The first launch of NASA’s flagship Artemis program has been plagued by technical issues and delays.
In the run-up to August 29th, excitement surrounding the launch of Artemis I – the first step in NASA’s plans to return humans to the Moon – had reached fever pitch.
On the day itself, however, a faulty sensor reading caused the launch to be scrubbed and the date was pushed back to the next window of September 3rd.
Unfortunately, this second attempt also failed due to a fuel leak, leaving a big question mark over the launch and exactly when NASA would be putting its Space Launch System (SLS) into space.
Fast-forward a few weeks and now yet another possible launch window has had to be scrapped due to the impending approach of Hurricane Ian, forcing NASA to not only postpone the launch, but to initiate the process of rolling the enormous rocket off the launchpad and back to its hangar.
This latest setback could ultimately see the launch being delayed for months – possibly until next year.
The rocket had been sitting on the launchpad since August 17th.
It is certainly a disappointing development in what was shaping up to be a historic launch that would have paved the way towards a manned landing within the next few years.
As things stand, we might be waiting a while longer to see the next human walk on the surface of the Moon.
Source: Independent | Comments (22)
