NASA moves next Artemis I rocket launch attempt through September 3

Make your plans Saturday: NASA says we’ll launch a rocket.

The space agency moved the date to the next day Artemis I صاروخ missile launch Try Saturday, September 3rd, after making sure that the initial plan for Friday will face bad weather.

Officials said during a media briefing that there was a 60 percent chance that the launch would be delayed due to the weather on Friday. The two-hour launch window opens at 2:17 p.m.

This will be NASA’s second attempt this week to launch its massive next-generation rockets. Monday’s first launch attempt has been cancelled After one of the four RS-25 engines failed to reach the proper temperature to allow for takeoff.

The Artemis I mission consists of a 322-foot-high Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with the Orion capsule for the crew on top. If the launch is successful, the 39-day mission will see the SLS fly the unmanned Orion to an altitude of just under 4,000 km before the two vehicles separate and the rocket’s primary stage returns to Earth.

Orion will continue to walk to the moon, which it will orbit for six days before returning to Earth. The capsule is scheduled to drop into the ocean on October 11th.

If all goes according to plan, it will mark the start of NASA’s Artemis program to return to the moon, which has been plagued by years of delayAnd the development accidentsAnd the Billions of dollars in budget overruns.