The US space agency has had to postpone the launch of its new Artemis I Moon rocket for the second time in a week.
Controllers were unable to stop a hydrogen leak on the vehicle, almost from the start of Saturday’s countdown procedure.
Nasa now has another opportunity to launch the rocket on Monday or Tuesday.
After that the vehicle will have to return to its assembly building for inspection and maintenance, which will mean further delays.
The Space Launch System is the most powerful rocket ever developed by Nasa, and is designed to send astronauts and their equipment back to the lunar surface after an absence of 50 years.
The Artemis I mission is an uncrewed demonstration, but Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson said the rocket’s future role in human spaceflight meant extreme care was still required in its operation.
“We will go when it’s ready,” he stressed. “We don’t go until then, and we make sure it’s right before we put humans up on the top of it.”
It’s possible Nasa could try again in the next few days. But there are battery systems on this rocket that will soon need inspection. And if the vehicle has to be rolled back to the engineering building for further work, it could be mid-October before we see it again on the launch pad.
