NASA delays launch of Artemis 1 mission
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Today, August 29, NASA announcedthat the launch of the Artemis 1 lunar mission scheduled for that day is delayed due to problems with one of the four engines of the Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle.
SLS is a super-heavy launch vehicle for manned expeditions beyond the Earth orbit, the most powerful in the world. Its length is 98 m, the total thrust of the engines is 39.1 MN. Tests SLS took place last year.
While fueling the rocket with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen today, the SLS launch engineering team reported a possible leak in one of the engines, causing the launch to be delayed several times. Later it became known that the team was unable to reach the desired temperature in this engine. As a result, the launch for today was cancelled. The closest possible launch date is September 2nd. Whether it will take place depends on the results of the engine test, which will take place in the coming days.
Artemis 1 is part of the large-scale American lunar program Artemis. The Artemis 1 mission – the SLS launch vehicle and the Orion unmanned spacecraft – was originally supposed to launch last year, but the launch was postponed several times. The mission involves Orion flying around the moon and returning back to Earth. Further, the Artemis 2 manned mission is scheduled to be sent to the Moon in 2024, and the Artemis 3 mission is scheduled to land on the Moon in 2025.
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