NASA to Provide Update on Tuesday

NASA said it will be updating the public on its next steps for the Artemis project during a Tuesday evening news briefing.

The briefing will follow a review of the challenges engineers dealt with while preparing for Monday's Artemis I launch, which was ultimately postponed.

In a Tuesday news release, NASA said the mission's management team will be meeting Tuesday afternoon "to discuss the data" from Monday's attempted launch "and develop a plan forward."

NASA said the Tuesday news conference will begin at about 6 p.m. ET, but noted the exact time of the briefing "is subject to change."

The next launch attempt may happen as early as Friday, though NASA noted project managers haven't yet set an official new launch date.

NASA officials held a news conference earlier Monday to discuss some of the issues engineers faced during the first launch attempt. The Monday afternoon release provided another overview of the "several" issues encountered during the attempt, including weather complications and an engine "bleed" that the agency said "is unlikely to be the result of a problem with the engine itself."

Why NASA Wants to Return to the Moon

NASA says its Artemis program is targeting the moon "for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and inspiration for a new generation of explorers," which the agency refers to as "the Artemis Generation."

Returning to the moon will help retain "American leadership in exploration" while building "a global alliance" and exploring "deep space for the benefit of all," NASA says on its website.

The Artemis program aims to place a woman and a person of color on the moon for the first time in history. The information gained from more extensive research on the moon will contribute to later missions aimed at sending astronauts to Mars, the agency says.

NASA delves into its reasons for wanting to go to the moon in greater detail in the below video, which is posted on the program page on its website.

Program Aims to Bring Humans Back to the Moon

The Artemis I rocket was set to travel to the moon Monday before its launch was postponed due to engine problems.

The unmanned spacecraft was set to deploy small satellites and then settle into orbit. This launch was meant to test conditions crews will experience on and around the moon to ensure a safe mission.

This brand new type of rocket system is a hybrid of the space shuttle and Apollo's Saturn V rocket, University of Colorado Boulder professor and save scientist Jack Burns told the Conversation. It combines liquid oxygen and hydrogen main engines and two strap-on solid rocket boosters derived from the space shuttle.

The rocket is a "heavy lift" vehicle" and will be the most powerful rocket engine ever flown to space, Burns said.

The unmanned spacecraft was set to deploy small satellites and then settle into orbit. This launch was meant to test conditions crews will experience on and around the moon to ensure a safe mission.

The space around the moon is a high-radiation environment. Burns said the small satellites placed in the orbit of the moon will examine craters where scientists believe water exists and other measures of radiation to see what the impacts of long-term radiation exposure will have on humans.

This spacecraft will also be important for testing the heat shield that protects the Orion Crew Capsule and its occupants when it returns to Earth after a month.

Artemis I is meant to be the first mission to the moon before Artemis 2 launches in a few years with astronauts on board. Artemis 2 will also be an orbital mission, much like Apollo 8, which circled the moon and returned to Earth.

Finally, Artemis 3, will bring the first human mission to the Moon since 1972. The rocket will take astronauts to the moon's surface to explore the south pole where water ice is believed to be. NASA said the Artemis 3 crew will include the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon.

The program has many goals, Burns said, including using resources like water and lunar soil to produce food, fuel and building materials, and establishing a lunar and space economy.

Artemis I Combines Aspects of Three Apollo Missions

Artemis I mission leaders told reporters that they are taking each launch test and scrub as an opportunity to learn.

Jim Free, the associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA, said the agency's approach is that "we're gonna launch when we're ready."

He said no one wanted the launch to be a success more than the team that worked on it.

"There's nobody that came wanting that vehicle to launch more than our team that has worked on this," he said. "Everyone wants it to be successful."

The team's job, he added, is ultimately to make the launch "as successful as we can."

Free said there could be a future test launch where the team runs into another issue and decides not to fly.

"That's the most important decision we can make," he said, adding that Artemis I is "just the beginning."

Artemis Mission Manager Mike Sarafin said everyone on the team wants to see that next milestone and will not let this scrub stop them.

"Seeing smoke and fire is something that everyone enjoys," he said. "But we're not going to let another hurdle deter us from trying to achieve that next step."

He said space is "an incredibly hard business" and the team is dealing with brand-new technology.

"We are trying to do something that hasn't been done in over 50 years," he said, referring to the Apollo program that ran from 1968 to 1972 and first brought a man to the moon. "And we're doing it with new technology, we're doing it with new operators and new teams and new command control and new software."

Sarafin said this process is all about "learning along the way."

"What we love about [NASA] is that it is a learning organization and we take pride in lessons learned and applying them," he said.

He said the team's ability to overcome issues as they came up during the launch today before the engine bleed is a sign that "we applied a lot of lessons learned and are trying to get to that next step."

The other NASA leaders also compared the Artemis mission to the groundbreaking Apollo mission decades ago.

Free said the Apollo mission was impressive because "they didn't know it could be done."

The current team has seen a mission to the moon done before but is using a new vehicle.

NASA Adminsitrot Bill Nelson said the Apollo mission went "step by step" to get humans on the moon. He said that the missions of Apollo 7, 8 and 9 are all wrapped up in Artemis I. Then what was achieved in Apollo 10 and 11 will be achieved in Artemis 2 and 3.

He said the Artemis mission is a "compression of a lot of things."

"We are standing on the shoulder of those who came before, but with a completely different vehicle."

NASA Encountered 'Number of Challenges'

Engineers encountered a "number of challenges" while going through their checklist ahead of Monday's planned Artemis I launch, NASA officials told reporters Monday afternoon.

Those challenges, which NASA administrators said were both technological and weather-related, resulted in NASA deciding to postpone the launch until the issues can be reviewed and resolved.

Mike Sarafin, the Artemis mission manager at NASA's headquarters, said during a Monday afternoon press conference that the launch team has "overcome a number" of technical issues but "ran into one that we need a little more time to look at."

First, Sarafin recalled the "couple of lightning strikes" on the launch pad that occurred over the weekend as the team was making its final preparations. The teams "quickly" concluded there was no damage as a result of the lightning, but additional weather complications came up during Monday's anticipated launch window.

"We would have been a no-go for weather at the beginning of the window due to precipitation, and later on in the window we would have been a no-go for lightning within the launch pad," Sarafin said.

On Sunday evening, the team identified an issue with the flight software that they determined was a "simple misconfiguration" with the command control module and were able to quickly resolve, Sarafin said.

As the tanking process began ahead of the scheduled launch, the team encountered a delay related to a lightning alert and then noticed a hydrogen leak, which Sarafin said required engineers to "slow down the loading operation."

The team later faced issues bringing one of the engine's temperatures down and identified a vent valve issue with one of the inner tanks. The vent valve issue "really caused us to pause today, and we felt like we needed a little more time," he said.

"The team worked through a number of issues today," Sarafin said. "The team was tired at the end of the day, and we just decided that it was the best to knock it off and to reconvene tomorrow."

The team "just didn't get to the launch window," Sarafin added.

"So a number of challenges," he said. "We were ready for some of them, and the technical challenges we encountered on the engine bleed and the vent valve are just some things we're going to have to go look at tomorrow, after we get a little smarter and get rested."

NASA Says Friday Launch 'Definitely in Play'

Mike Sarafin, the Artemis mission manager at NASA's headquarters, said Friday is "definitely in play" for the next attempted launch following Monday's postponement.

Speaking with reporters during a Monday afternoon news conference, Sarafin discussed the technical and weather challenges engineers faced on Monday, saying time is needed for data assessment before NASA can confirm a specific new timeline. He said a new launch attempt on Friday is still possible.

"Friday is definitely in play," Sarafin said. "We just need a little bit of time to look at the data."

Sarafin said the launch team is eyeing a 96-hour recycle and is in the meantime remaining in the "launch countdown configuration."

"We're preserving the option for Friday," he said.

NASA initially identified Friday as the next possible launch window for the Artemis I mission if Monday's planned launch did not proceed as expected. If NASA does not move forward with the launch on Friday, the next available launch window previously identified by the agency is September 5.

Mission Leaders to Review Test Data Tomorrow

As NASA leaders hold a press briefing, the Artemis I rocket remains stable while teams continue to run tests.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said he is "proud" of the launch team for solving problems along the way during today's test launch.

He said this is a brand new rocket and it will not fly until it is ready.

With the "millions" of components and systems, Nelson said the complexity is "daunting" when it is all brought into the focus of a countdown.

He said scrubs are "just part of this program. "

"When you're dealing in a high-risk business, and spaceflight is risky, that's what you do," Nelson said. "You buy down that risk, you make it as safe as possible and of course that is the whole reason for this test flight."

He said the team has to "stress and test" the rocket to make sure it is as safe as possible when humans are put on Artemis II.

Nelson added that Vice President Kamala Harris was "pumped" the entire time of her visit. He said she is "bullish" about the space program and the Artemis program specifically.

Harris met with special guests invited to the launch as well as members of Congress. She also toured the Artemis hardware.

Nelson said Harris had a "very productive" visit and predicts that she will see her at a future launch.

The Artemis mission management team will meet tomorrow to review the data of the tests and will give another press briefing.

NASA to Give Update on Mission Soon

NASA will hold a news briefing soon, following the decision to postpone the Artemis I launch.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will join Jim Free, NASA's associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate and Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin for remarks on the status of the Artemis I mission for a news briefing Monday afternoon.

This comes as teams were continuing to work through the issue with the rocket's third engine.

"Safety is always first," NASA said in a tweet.

The briefing will stream on the agency's website at 1 p.m. ET, or watch below:

'We Will Return to the Moon,' VP Harris Says

Vice President Kamala Harris assured Americans that "we will return to the moon" following NASA's postponed launch of Artemis I.

Harris traveled to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in anticipation of the launch and was set to deliver remarks there Monday. After the agency decided to delay the launch so engineers could assess an engine issue, Harris said on Twitter that though the launch had not proceeded as anticipated, "valuable data" was gained from the exercise.

"While we hoped to see the launch of Artemis I today, the attempt provided valuable data as we test the most powerful rocket in history," Harris said.

The vice president then reiterated the White House's support for the NASA program.

"Our commitment to the Artemis Program remains firm, and we will return to the moon," she said.

Lightning, Engine Troubles Delayed Rocket Launch

NASA decided to postpone the Artemis I launch Monday after several unsuccessful engine tests.

Before the engine issues, the early-morning weather stalled launch operations.

The launch team had to hold on loading the propellant into the rocket due to lighting at around 1 a.m. But Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson gave the "go" to officially begin loading propellants into the Space Launch System rocket about 20 minutes later. This came after officials said there were no longer reports of lightning within five nautical miles of Launch Pad 39B, according to NASA.

As the weather improved, teams began filling the spacecraft's engines.

But while the team was transitioning from the slow fill of liquid hydrogen to fast fill operations, there was a spike in the amount of hydrogen that is allowed to leak into the purge can at around 3:40 a.m.

Engineers then started to reverse the flow of liquid hydrogen into the core stage and were troubleshooting, NASA said.

Teams then continued to fuel the rocket's core stage with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as they worked towards the two-hour launch window that opened at 8:33 a.m.

Once the tanks were fully fueled and replenished at 5:28 a.m., launch teams were given the "go" to load liquid oxygen into the interim cryogenic propulsion stage.

But as they began that process, engineers ran into issues with the rocket's third engine.

"Launch controllers condition the engines by increasing pressure on the core stage tanks to bleed some of the cryogenic propellant to the engines to get them to the proper temperature range to start them," NASA said in a statement at 6:32 a.m. "Engine 3 is not properly being conditioned through the bleed process, and engineers are troubleshooting."

There was also an apparent crack in the thermal protection system material on one of the flanges on the core stage. The flanges serve as connection joints that attach the tanks to the top and bottom of the intertank.

By 8:19 a.m., teams were in hold while engineers evaluated why the bleed test to condition the engines was not successful. The rocket remained in stable, safe condition, NASA said.

Ultimately, the engineers were not able to meet the two-hour launch window. At 8:50 a.m., Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson scrubbed the launch attempt as engineers continued to evaluate the issue with the engine bleed test.

NASA Could Retry Launch on Friday

Before NASA decided to postpone Monday's anticipated launch of Artemis I, the agency set two backup launch dates.

Friday is the first day on which NASA may retry its Artemis I launch, and September 5 is the next potential backup date that the agency shared earlier this month. In a series of Monday morning tweets, NASA said it will keep the public "posted on the timing of the next launch attempt" as its engineers assess the issue that arose during its try on Monday.

At the beginning of August, NASA said it was "ahead of schedule" in going through its final checklist before the planned launch, but engineers ran into trouble with one of the engines. NASA initially set a two-hour window during which the launch could move forward and ultimately decided to delay until the engine issue could be resolved.

If the launch had been successful on Monday, NASA said its mission would have had a targeted end date of October 10.

NASA Chief Says Scrubs Are 'Part of the Space Business'

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the Artemis I launch scrub is "just part of the space business."

"We don't launch until it's right," he said after NASA decided to postpone today's launch due to engine troubles.

When there are problems with engine bleed, Nelson said "you can't go" due to certain guidelines

He said the Artemis I is a "very complicated machine" part of "a very complicated system."

"All those things have to work," he said. "You don't want to light the candle until it's ready to go."

When he participated in the 24th flight of the Space Shuttle, Nelson said they had to scrub four times on the path. The fifth attempt was a "flawless mission."

"We know, had we launched on any of those scrubs, it wouldn't have been a good day," he said.

Launch scrubs are "just part of the space business," Nelson said.

"We are stressing and testing rocket and spacecraft in a way we would never do it with a human crew on board," he said. "That is the purpose of a test flight."

Nelson is confident that the launch team is doing "the perfect job that they always do."

Crews are taking the opportunity to work on the rocket while it is fueled to "work the problem," he said.

"They will work on it, they'll get to the bottom of it, they'll get it fixed and then we'll fly," Nelson said.

Nelson added that Vice President Kamala Harris, who was present at the launch this morning, has been fully briefed on the situation.

Nelson met Harris when she arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the launch.

He said both Harris and President Joe Biden are "enthusiastic space boosters" and that the Artemis mission will "make our country proud."

NASA Scrubs Launch Due to Engine Troubles

NASA decided to scrub today's Artemis I launch due to engine issues.

Launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson called a scrub of the launch attempt this morning due to an engine bleed that couldn't be remedied.

The rocket is in a stable position, according to Artemis launch control. Engineers are working on a plan to continue gathering data about the issue.

The launch was scheduled at 8:34 a.m., but NASA called it off around 8:50 a.m. after troubleshooting attempts to fix the engine troubles.

The spacecraft was on hold as teams continued to work on issues with engine number 3. During the fueling process, there was a leak of hydrogen. There was a similar issue during an earlier "wet dress rehearsal" in the spring, NASA said.

"The Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft remain in a safe and stable configuration," NASA Artemis said in a statement. "Launch controllers were continuing to evaluate why a bleed test to get the RS-25 engines on the bottom of the core stage to the proper temperature range for liftoff was not successful, and ran out of time in the two-hour launch window."

The unmanned rocket was set to propel a capsule into orbit around the moon.