Artemis 1 mission delayed by nearly a month over mechanical leak

NASA confirmed on Saturday that the relaunch of the Artemis I mission would not occur this weekend but rather in nearly a month.

This is the second rescheduling of the moon-bound rocket, which might occur as early as September 25. NASA finally opted against attempting a Monday restart to give experts time to inspect the rocket, which suffered a liquid hydrogen leak. Teams discovered it while loading fuel into the core stage of the rocket.

"Human nature is such that we desire to observe and participate in it. Nevertheless, this is precisely why these men are such excellent experts "Administrator of NASA Bill Nelson stated during a Saturday press conference. "They do it by the book and when it's ready."

Jim Free, the associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, could not answer a reporter's question regarding the cost of two leaks and subsequent rescheduled flights.

Nelson commented on behalf of Free, "The cost of two scrubs is a lot less than a failure,"

Artemis I was destined to exist. "The first flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft. During the second flight test, Artemis I will go 40,000 miles beyond the Moon and back to demonstrate our capabilities to take humans into lunar orbit, "according to the website of NASA.

NASA will consider the SpaceX launch, the fifth crewed trip to the International Space Station, slated for Oct. 5, when planning Artemis I's third launch attempt.