August 30, 2022 20:50 PM
NASA’s giant lunar rocket, the Space Launch System, has been delayed due to a malfunction.
[China News Agency]On the 29th local time, the launch of NASA’s giant lunar exploration rocket “Space Launch System” was delayed due to a malfunction.
According to a report by NPR, the “Space Launch System” was originally planned to carry the “Orion” spacecraft to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at about 8:33 on the 29th Eastern Time to execute the “Artemis 1” spacecraft. “Unmanned flight test mission around the moon. However, the launch was called off about 40 minutes before the scheduled launch time.
NASA said an exhaust problem with one of the rocket’s engines prevented the engine from reaching the temperature range suitable for launch. The launch had to be called off because it was too late to fix the glitch within the two-hour launch window.
In the early hours of the same day, before the rocket engine exhaust problem was discovered, staff also reported a fuel leak, which caused the refueling process to be suspended twice. NASA later said on social platforms that the level of fuel leakage was “within an acceptable range” and that refueling operations had resumed. During testing this spring, the rocket had a fuel leak in the same location as this time.