NASA has referred to as off at present’s deliberate launch of its new Space Launch System rocket. The launch was to be the beginning of the Artemis I mission, through which the rocket would carry the uncrewed Orion spacecraft on its mission across the moon. But a liquid hydrogen gas leak meant the launch needed to be scrubbed.

The leak was first noticed this morning, Saturday, September 3, when the rocket’s tanks have been being stuffed with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen which act as gas for the launch. There was a leak within the liquid hydrogen line which linked to the rocket’s core stage, requiring the tanking to be halted.

“The launch director waived off today’s Artemis I launch attempt at approximately 11:17 a.m. EDT,” NASA wrote in an replace. “Teams encountered a liquid hydrogen leak while loading the propellant into the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket. Multiple troubleshooting efforts to address the area of the leak by reseating a seal in the quick disconnect where liquid hydrogen is fed into the rocket did not fix the issue. Engineers are continuing to gather additional data.”

Launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson declared the launch a “no-go” at simply after 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT) this morning. The groups had tried a number of choices to cease the leak, together with warming up the short disconnect within the hope it might reseal, to utilizing helium so as to add strain to the road to attempt to reseal it. But not one of the makes an attempt totally stopped the leak, so the launch was referred to as off when the liquid oxygen tank was 100% full and the liquid hydrogen tank was 11% full.

Now, the tanks should be drained of propellants earlier than one other launch try could be made. If the leak difficulty could be mounted in time, there’s one other launch alternative for the rocket on Monday, September 5.

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