NASA has called off the launch of its Artemis 1 rocket due to a leak, the second time it has failed to go forward and has now said that the next try will not be until late September.
Engineers advised the launch director that the planned lift-off should be cancelled.
The rocket’s launch, which was originally scheduled for Monday 29 of this week, was cancelled due to a hydrogen leak.
The US space agency now anticipates the third attempt to be postponed until at least late September, with the rocket being rolled back to the vehicle assembly facility at some time.
“During fueling of the Artemis I mission, a leak formed in the supply side of the eight-inch fast disconnect while attempting to transfer fuel to the rocket,” NASA stated earlier on Saturday.
“So far, attempts to repair it have proven futile.”
They eventually conceded that the leak was “too vast” and “too intricate” to be repaired in only a few days.
NASA’s Mike Sarafin described the launch as “an extraordinarily difficult business.”
