NASA is hoping to launch its Space Launch System rocket and uncrewed Orion spacecraft to the moon as soon as Tuesday.
were marred by fuel leaks, including a sizable one earlier this month NASA engineers could not contain, NASA officials said they are now confident they have fixed the problem after running a fueling test earlier this week.that could threaten the Florida Space Coast and force NASA to once again delay the launch. A decision on that could come Saturday, NASA said, since it needs a couple of days to roll the vehicle back to its assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center.
“We have a step-by-step, measured approach for looking at weather, seeing which direction it’s going,” he said. “I don’t think we’re cutting it close. I think we’re cutting it just at the right time.”, NASA officials are eager to launch the SLS rocket for the first time, which would mark the first major step in its Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon. This launch would have no astronauts on board, and is seen as a test of the vehicle before the space agency flies humans.
Ultimately, NASA’s engineers were able to get the rocket fueled, despite overcoming yet another leak that they said they were able to manage. Overall, the test was “very successful,” said John Blevins, NASA’s chief SLS engineer.Despite the setbacks, the team was “actually very encouraged,” Whitmeyer said, calling it a “good accomplishment.”