Fuel Leak Aborts NASA’s Second Attempt to Launch Artemis I Rocket

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NASA’s second attempt to launch the Artemis I moon rocket on Saturday was canceled after Launch Controllers were unable to repair a hydrogen leak. The first launch attempt was last week and was scrubbed on account of an engine issue. The next window of opportunity for the launch is early next week. If that does not work out, NASA will have to wait until October for another chance to get their latest space operation off the ground.

"The #Artemis I mission to the Moon has been postponed," the NASA Twitter page announced, "teams attempted to fix an issue related to a leak in the hardware transferring fuel into the rocket, but were unsuccessful."

The Artemis missions are NASA’s planned return to the Moon. NASA aims to establish a presence on the Moon for the first time since the 1970s, with the hope of building towards future manned missions to Mars. The planned missions will incorporate commercial and international partners. This first mission plans to send the Space Launch System rocket, the most powerful rocket ever built, and the empty Orion capsule around the moon.

The canceled launch was covered mildly and consistently across the spectrum on Saturday, less prominently than the first attempt.

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Before the first launch attempt of the Artemis I mission last Monday, Wayne Hale, a former program manager of NASA’s space shuttle program, shared a note of caution on Twitter that the day could end up disappointing:

Bill Harwood, a longtime space reporter at CBS News, responded, “I think you’re being optimistic!”

The launch of the NASA Artemis I rocket was scrubbed for a second time on Saturday after another fuel leak. 

Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson finally halted the countdown at 11:17 a.m. EDT after three to four hours of effort.

The team then started to work to de-tank the rocket. 

Launch controllers were unable to troubleshoot a hydrogen leak – which was detected at 7:15 a.m. EDT – that reoccurred twice in a cavity between the ground and flight side plates of a quick disconnect. 

NASA was expected to make a second attempt to launch the Artemis I moon rocket on Saturday after they were forced to scrub the initial launch on August 29 due to an engine issue.

However, the planned launch will not now take place on Saturday as a result of a fuel leak.

"The #Artemis I mission to the Moon has been postponed. Teams attempted to fix an issue related to a leak in the hardware transferring fuel into the rocket, but were unsuccessful," NASA's official Twitter account announced.

There is another launch window on Monday.