NASA delays launch of new moon rocket due to engine issue: Here's what officials said happened

The launch of NASA's powerful new moon rocket was halted on Monday with three test models aboard due to a series of last-minute issues that culminated in an engine-related unknown issue. The following launch attempt won't happen until at least Friday and might not happen until mid-September or later.

The trip will mark the start of NASA's Artemis project, which aims to return men to the moon for the first time since the Apollo mission came to an end 50 years ago. Due to a leak of extremely explosive hydrogen, NASA repeatedly stopped and restarted the fueling of the Space Launch System rocket on Monday morning. Eventually, they were able to reduce the seepage. The identical spot where seepage occurred during a practice run in the spring was where the leak occurred.

Because of thunderstorms off Florida's Kennedy Space Center, the fueling was already running over an hour behind schedule. Then, according to officials, NASA encountered further difficulties when it was unable to adequately freeze one of the rocket's four main engines. Even when the launch was postponed, engineers had trouble identifying the issue's root cause.

READ | NASA Artemis I Moon mission launch today: Know time, how to watch in India

According to Mike Sarafin, mission manager, the plumbing leading to the engine appears to be at problem rather than the engine itself. Another hydrogen leak, this one involving a vent valve higher up on the rocket, developed as engineers were attempting to diagnose that issue on the launch pad, complicating matters, Sarafin added.

"This is a very complicated machine, a very complicated system, and all those things have to work, and you don't want to light the candle until it's ready to go," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. Referring to launch delays, he said: "It's just part of the space business and it's part of, particularly, a test flight."

The rocket was prepared to launch on a mission to place a crew capsule in lunar orbit. The capsule was supposed to return to Earth in October after a six-week journey with a splashdown in the Pacific.

The NASA spacecraft, which has a diameter of 322 feet (98 metres), is more powerful than the Saturn V that sent the Apollo astronauts to the moon. To stress-test the spacecraft and push it to its limits in ways that would never be tried if humans were aboard, sensors were installed within the Orion capsule to record vibration, cosmic radiation, and other variables.

READ | NASA Artemis-1 Moon mission: From launch to landing, here’s all you need to know

When questioned whether a second launch attempt may be made on Friday, Sarafin responded, "We really need time to examine all the data and information. We'll play the full nine innings here." Thousands of people gathered around the coast to witness the rocket launch despite the fact that no one was on board. VIPs in attendance were Vice President Kamala Harris and astronaut Tom Stafford from Apollo 10.

Astronauts will board the second Artemis mission and fly around the moon and back as early as 2024, assuming the shakedown trip is successful. By the end of 2025, a two-person lunar landing may take place. The issues on Monday brought up memories of NASA's space program, when hydrogen fuel leaks in 1990 disrupted countdowns and delayed a number of missions.

READ | Massive airplane-sized asteroid is coming towards the Earth today, NASA warns

Eventually that morning, NASA officials saw what they initially believed to be a crack or other flaw on the core stage—"the large orange fuel tank with four main engines on it"—but they later determined that it was likely only a deposit of frost in a crevice of the insulating foam.

Additionally, sluggish communication between the Orion capsule and launch control had to be dealt with by launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson and her team. It turned out that there was a straightforward solution to the issue.

According to NASA, thunderstorms would have ultimately precluded a liftoff even if there had been no technical difficulties. As soon as the countdown was stopped, rain and dark clouds began to collect above the launch site, and thunder could be heard along the coast.

READ | NASA shares 'spectacular' aurora pictures above the Indian ocean from International Space Station

 (With inputs from PTI)