We’re closing our space blog now after a disappointing morning at Cape Canaveral that saw Nasa scrub its first attempt to launch its Artemis 1 moon mission because of an engine issue.
But mission managers will point out this is a test flight designed to iron out mechanical issues and other problems to ensure astronaut safety ahead of placing human crews aboard in subsequent missions.
Thanks for joining us today, and I hope you’ll be with us when Nasa returns to try again, possibly as early as this Friday (2 September) depending on what engineers find as they troubleshoot the issue that caused today’s launch postponement.
If they don’t make it on Friday, the next available launch date after that is 5 September. Following that, they would have to wait until the middle of the month.
'Engine bleed' causes Artemis 1 launch scrub
Nasa says “an engine bleed that couldn’t be remedied” was the reason today’s scheduled launch of its Artemis 1 moon mission was scrubbed.
Engineers first became aware of the issue overnight as they loaded 2.76m litres of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuel into the tanks of the giant Space Launch System rocket.
All four R-25 engines from the rockets core stage needed to be “conditioned” with cryogenic propellant to bring them up to the correct temperature for launch, but one of the four failed to respond as Nasa expected.
The launch of #Artemis I is no longer happening today as teams work through an issue with an engine bleed. Teams will continue to gather data, and we will keep you posted on the timing of the next launch attempt. https://t.co/tQ0lp6Ruhv pic.twitter.com/u6Uiim2mom
— NASA (@NASA) August 29, 2022
The engine “didn’t get the high accuracy temperature that they were looking for,” launch control communicator Derrol Nail said, adding that the rocket would remain fuelled on launchpad 39B at Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre while engineers gathered data.
“The rocket is currently in a stable configuration,” he said. “The team was unable to get past the engine bleed that didn’t show the right temperature and ultimately the launch director has called a scrub for the day.”
Nail said the next available launch opportunity would be 12.48pm EDT (5.48pm BST) on Friday 2 September, but it was far from a certainty Nasa would take that opportunity.
“We must wait to see what shakes out from their test data they’re gathering now and the decision that’s to be made by the launch team about where to go from here,” he said.
