In this photo provided by NASA, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft on board is shown atop the mobile launcher on Launch Pad 39B, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022, in NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Photo: Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP

NASA's new lunar rocket suffered another dangerous fuel leak on Saturday, forcing launch controllers to call off their second attempt to send a capsule occupied only by three test dummies into lunar orbit.

The first attempt, earlier in the week,

Launch manager Charlie Blackwell-Thompson and her team tried to plug Saturday's leak like they did last time: by stopping and restarting the flow of supercold liquid hydrogen in hopes of eliminating open space around a seal in the line. of supply.

Blackwell-Thompson finally stopped the countdown after three or four hours of futile efforts to load nearly 1 million gallons (3.8 million liters) of fuel.

The first countdown, on Monday, was stopped by a faulty engine sensor and another fuel leak.

The test flight must go well before the astronauts can get on board.

The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will attempt to send the capsule around the Moon and back.

If successful, it will be the first capsule to fly to the Moon since NASA's Apollo program 50 years ago.

The $4.1 billion test flight is the first for NASA's Artemis lunar exploration program, named after Apollo's twin sister in Greek mythology.

The ship could carry astronauts on board in 2024 for a tour around the Moon and attempt a landing in 2025.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education.

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(With information from AP)

See also:

NASA announces Artemis I mission to the Moon