NASA Postpones Launch of Artemis I Mission again

NASA has once again postponed the launch of the Artemis I mission, which was due to take place next week, 27 September. This time, the launch has been postponed due to a tropical storm.

The US space agency said a decision on whether to return the rocket and spacecraft from the launch pad to the main hangar would be made on Sunday.

Nasa wrote on its blog:

During a meeting Saturday morning, teams decided to stand down on preparing for the Tuesday launch date to allow them to configure systems for rolling back the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Earlier on 21 September, key fueling tests were conducted on the Space Launch System rocket to determine whether agency specialists had successfully repaired the liquid oxygen leak that thwarted the rocket's launch attempt on 3 September.

The SLS rocket is designed to withstand wind gusts of up to 74 knots at the launch pad. It takes NASA about three days to prepare and return the SLS back to the assembly building.