After the first failed attempt, Artemis was unable to use its second launch window. send the Orion spacecraft to the moon, accelerating the SLS rocket. The problems were too serious to risk, so finally at 15:20 (17:20 Spanish Peninsular Time) launch cancelled.
The launch window opened at 20:17. From that moment on, the Artemis scientists had two hours to launch the rocket. But finally, they didn’t wait that long. At the moment it is not known when there will be a new attempt, although it can be carried out in a new launch window, September 5th.
Although the first attempt was canceled due to a problem with the cooling of one of the rocket engines, this time it was leak associated with equipment transferring propellant to a rocket.
Problems before takeoff
Although there were some concerns about weather conditions at Cape Canaveral, this was not the biggest problem leading up to the launch. This time, the cooling of the engines went smoothly, with no remarkable incidents. However, during the filling of the fuel tanks, although liquid oxygen could be introduced without problems, soon hydrogen leak. We tried to solve the problem in several ways, but without success. Given this situation, at 15:00 UTC (17:00 Spanish Peninsular Time) cancel launch. However, the director still rejected this proposal, so that after a few minutes he eventually admitted the inevitable.
If launch were possible, Artemis would be ready for a second mission in 2024 that would be exactly like this one, with the only difference being that it would have a crew.
Artemis’ nearest plans
When this mission returns to Earth in 42 days, it will be time to think about the second phase, about 2024. But also about the moment of truth. It is expected to be able to deliver humans back to the moon as early as 2026. At this point, the ship will no longer be restricted to orbital flight. He will fit into gateway orbiter, which at that time had not yet begun to be assembled, but by that time it would be ready. After that, the descent vehicle will take the astronauts to the surface of the moon.
But for this, this first step must be successful. I hope the third time will be a charm.
Source: Hiper Textual