NASA's return to the moon will have to wait a little longer after the first uncrewed launch of its Space Launch System rocket was scrubbed Monday morning due to an engine issue.
NASA's Space Launch System moon rocket was scheduled to launch for the first time at 5:33 a.m. Pacific time from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But an issue with one of the four engines in the rocket's core stage pushed the launch back at least a few days. The next possible launch time is Friday, though engineers will have to work through the engine issue first, a NASA spokesman said on the agency's launch livestream.
The towering rocket will propel the Orion crew capsule — without a crew aboard — 280,000 miles from Earth on a distant orbit around the moon. The capsule is set to splash down off the coast of San Diego.
