Later in October, yet another launch period will begin, running from October 17 to October 31. And NASA will have to work to make sure that one launch won’t conflict with another. But there’s another potential issue: NASA is planning to launch its Crew-5 mission, which will carry a fresh crew of astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket, on October 3. The next launch period runs from September 19 to October 4. Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesĪrtemis I's next launch attempt may not happen until later this year The mission will carry the unmanned Orion space capsule into the moon's orbit in an effort to return humans to the moon and eventually land crewed missions on Mars. NASA is scheduled to launch Artemis I today starting at 2:17pm, after the first attempt was scrubbed due to an engine issue.
NASA's Artemis I rocket sits on launch pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center on Septemin Cape Canaveral, Florida. The latest launch period ended on Tuesday, September 6, and NASA had said there was no way the SLS would be ready to fly during that time. There are also “ launch periods,” which are spans of days when the moon lines up with the Earth in a way that’s favorable for this mission.
#Nasa space shuttle launch windows#
But even those windows aren’t available every day. On a given day, there are specific spans of time - or “launch windows” - set aside when the rocket is permitted to launch, and they can range from about a half hour to a few hours per day. And NASA said Tuesday that it will begin to attempt to correct those issues while the rocket is still on the launch pad.īut, eventually, the space agency will still need to roll the rocket back to the nearby Vehicle Assembly Building, a 4.2-mile trip that takes roughly 10 hours, in order to “reset the system’s batteries,” according to a Tuesday blog post from NASA.Īnd when it comes to setting a new launch date, timing will be complicated. But then, as the rocket was once again being loaded with super-cold liquid hydrogen propellant, it sprung a big leak. To recap what went down on Saturday, September 3: Launch officials went confidently into this weekend’s attempt to launch the rocket, called the Space Launch System or SLS. The longer delay can be attributed to several factors, including quirks of scheduling, possible traffic at the launch site, and NASA’s desire to make sure it’s solved the latest issues with leaky fuel. NASA’s massive new moon rocket hit another snag during its latest attempt to launch an uncrewed test mission, and it will be at least a few weeks - rather than days - before the rocket can make its next attempt.