Engine issue forces Nasa to scrub launch of giant Moon rocket

People leave after the Artemis I rocket was postponed at the Kennedy Space Center yesterday in Cape Canaveral as seen from the A. Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville, Florida. (AFP)

Nasa scrubbed a test flight yesterday of its largest-ever rocket in a setback to the ambitious programme to send humans back to the Moon — and eventually to Mars.“We don’t launch until it’s right,” Nasa administrator Bill Nelson said after an engine issue forced a cancellation of the launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.“This is a very complicated machine,” Nelson said. “You don’t want to light the candle until it’s ready to go.”The goal of the flight is to test the 322-foot Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion crew capsule that sits on top. The mission is uncrewed — mannequins equipped with sensors are standing in for astronauts.Mike Sarafin, mission manager of the Artemis 1 programme, said the US space agency may make another attempt on Friday.“Friday is definitely in play,” Sarafin told reporters. “They’re still holding in the launch countdown configuration and we’re preserving the option for Friday.”Next Monday is also an alternative launch date.Blastoff had been planned for 8:33am (1233 GMT) but was cancelled because of a temperature problem with one of the rocket’s four RS-25 engines.Nasa said a test to get one of the main engines to the proper temperature range for blastoff was not successful.Delays are “part of the space business,” Nelson said, expressing confidence that Nasa engineers will “get it fixed and then we’ll fly.”Tens of thousands of people — including US Vice-President Kamala Harris — had gathered to watch the launch, which comes 50 years after Apollo 17 astronauts last set foot on the Moon.“While we hoped to see the launch of Artemis 1 today, the attempt provided valuable data as we test the most powerful rocket in history,” Harris tweeted.“Our commitment to the Artemis Program remains firm, and we will return to the Moon.”