NASA will not make another attempt to launch Artemis I, the first mission in its ambitious return-to-the-moon program, before the end of September
The decision was communicated by the agency last Saturday (3), after a meeting of mission managers shortly after the second launch attempt was cancelled .
The reason for the cancellation was a leak in a quick coupler in a hydrogen line used to fuel the rocket.
The leak was detected around 8:15 am Saturday morning, and for nearly four hours engineers tried three different approaches to contain it, to no avail.
It is possible that the leak was caused by human error: during the process of cooling the fuel lines and propulsion system
before filling the central stage with liquid hydrogen, an operator mistakenly sent a command that momentarily raised the pressure in the line. where the leak occurred
The error was corrected "in three or four seconds", according to NASA, but it may have been enough to damage the hitch.