NASA has been forced to postpone a rocket launch that would have seen the first humans on the Moon in 50 years. The Artemis 1 was due to take off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, but NASA said it was experiencing an "unplanned stop" around 40 minutes before the scheduled launch.
The space agency has now confirmed that the launch is no longer happening as "teams work through an issue with an engine bleed." The agency added that it would continue to gather data and release further updates on the timing of the next launch attempt.
NASA's Artemis programme aims to land astronauts on the Moon in 2025, with the first phase due to have happened on Monday, August 29. It would be the first time that humans have landed there since 1972, when Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon.
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The next launch window is September 2 with a backup in place for September 5. The mission would have seen the launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, taking the Orion capsule into the moon's orbit.
Orion is located near the top of the rocket and astronauts will be based there in future missions. Nasa has previously expressed confidence that the launch will take place on one of its three scheduled dates.
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