NASA has again delayed the launch of a spacecraft to the moon — due to a fuel leak

The US space agency NASA has postponed the launch of its new SLS rocket for the second time in a week.

This is reported by the BBC.

Dispatchers sent a team to fill the rocketʼs hydrogen tank early in the morning on September 3, but an alarm went off, indicating a leak. Controllers were unable to stop the hydrogen leak. The problem was found in the connection where the hydrogen was pumped into the ship.

Now NASA has one more opportunity to launch the rocket — on September 5 or 6. After that, the spacecraft must be returned to the workshop for inspection and maintenance, which will lead to further delays.

The launch of the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule is part of the Artemis 1 mission. During it, the ship must make a test unmanned flight to the Moon and return to Earth.

• On August 29, NASA had to cancel the launch of the Artemis-1 mission due to a liquid hydrogen leak from the SLS launch vehicle, which prevented one of the four engines from cooling. The SLS is currently sitting on the pad at the Kennedy Space Center with an empty Orion capsule (no crew). The rocket should send the capsule around the Moon and back.
• The first flight with astronauts as part of the Artemis-2 mission around the Moon is scheduled for 2024. The Artemis-3 mission will be the first after Apollo 17 to land humans on the surface of the Moon ( according to the plan, in 2025 ). The planned duration of the mission is just under 38 days. The capsule will return to Earth (launched into the ocean in San Diego, California) on October 11.