NASA calls off second launch retry for Artemis moon rocket

For the second time in five days, NASA on Saturday halted a countdown in progress and postponed a planned attempt to launch the debut test flight of its giant, next-generation rocket, the first mission of the agency’s moon-to-Mars Artemis program.

The latest attempt to launch the 32-story-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and its Orion capsule was scrubbed after repeated attempts by technicians to correct a leak of super-cooled liquid hydrogen propellant being pumped into the vehicle’s core-stage fuel tanks.

Previously, NASA aimed to make a second attempt to launch its giant next-generation moon rocket on Saturday, Sept. 3, five days after a pair of technical issues foiled an initial try at getting the spacecraft off the ground for the first time.

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But prospects for success on Saturday appeared clouded by weather reports predicting just a 40% chance of favourable conditions that day, while the U.S. space agency acknowledged some outstanding technical issues remain to be solved.

At a media briefing a day after Monday’s first countdown ended with the flight scrubbed, NASA officials said Monday’s experience was useful in trouble-shooting some problems and that additional difficulties could be worked through in the midst of a second launch try.