NASA's moon rocket test has been delayed again, fueling stalled

The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen at sunrise atop a mobile launcher at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, April 4, 2022, in preparation for the Artemis I wet dress rehearsal test, in this photo released by NASA. Launch management attempted to load over 1 million gallons of fuel into the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket twice, once on Sunday and again on Monday. The first attempt was thwarted by problems with fans on the launch pad, while the second attempt was interrupted by a jammed valve. Image Credit: AP

AP: Because of a pair of technical issues that kept stalling a fuelling test, NASA has postponed its giant moon rocket's dress rehearsal until at least this weekend.

Launch managers attempted to load roughly 1 million gallons of fuel into the 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System, or SLS, twice — first on Sunday and again on Monday. The first attempt was stopped by squeaky fans at the launch pad, while the second attempt was delayed by a stuck valve.

The countdown test is the last major step before the rocket's much-anticipated launch. In a passenger-free test flight, the Orion crew capsule atop the rocket will be launched to the moon, circling around but not landing before returning to Earth. Depending on how the demo goes, NASA plans to launch in June.

"We didn't get through all we planned, but we learned a lot that we'll apply to our next attempt," NASA's exploration systems development manager Jim Free said.

Free said the launch team will wait until SpaceX launches four private passengers to the International Space Station before trying again with the fuelling test, speaking Tuesday at the Space Foundation's annual conference in Colorado Springs. The SLS rocket will take off from Kennedy Space Center on Friday, about a mile away from the launchpad.

The dress rehearsal started on Friday and was supposed to last two days. Four lightning strikes were reported at the pad Saturday during a strong thunderstorm, but officials believe this had no bearing on the technical issues.

NASA's Artemis program will send a crew around the moon in 2024 and then attempt the first lunar landing by astronauts in 2025 or so after this initial moonshot. The last time astronauts stepped on the moon was in 1972, as part of NASA's Apollo mission.

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