Artemis I launch updates: launch scrubbed after reoccurring liquid hydrogen leak

The issue with an engine on Artemis I that led to the launch on Monday being scrubbed may not have been an engine issue at all.

NASA officials said Monday that engine three did not chill down to a temperature of 500 degrees Rankine, or 40 degrees Fahrenheit, which is needed for ignition, compared to the other three engines.

However, John Honeycutt, manager of the Space Launch System Program from Marshall Space Flight Center, said the problem may have actually come from a faulty sensor, rather than the engine not cooling down enough.

"I think we've got enough data to put the story together but we've still got to go put the pieces together," Honeycutt said Tuesday.

NASA officials announced Tuesday that they've moved the launch of Artemis I to Saturday.

Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, told reporters during a media briefing that the mission management team met earlier in the day and agreed on the new date.

"We agreed on what was called option one, which was to operationally change the loading procedure and start our engine chill down earlier," he said.

One of the reasons for the scrub on Monday was because engine three did not cool down enough to the point needed for ignition, he explained yesterday.

"We also agreed to do some work at the pad to address the leak that we saw and we also agreed to move our launch date to Saturday, September the 3rd," Sarafin added. "We are going to reconvene the mission management team on Thursday, September the 1st, to review our flight rationale and our overall readiness."

NASA officials said there is no sign one of the engines needs to replaced on the Artemis I rocket after the launch was scrubbed.

During a media briefing Monday, Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, told reporters engine three did not cool down enough to the point needed for ignition.

"Do we need to remove and replace an engine? There is no indication we are at that scenario at this point," he said.

NASA officials on Monday offered more details behind the decision to postpone the Artemis I launch.

Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, explained engine three was not cooling down enough to the temperature needed before ignition.

"I don't recall exactly where the engines were but engines one, two and four were pretty close to that. Three was not getting there," he told reporters during a media briefing Monday afternoon.

Sarafin said there were other issues earlier in the day including tanking -- filling the rocket with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen -- being delayed for about an hour after the Kennedy Space Center went into a lightning alert as well as a hydrogen leak, although both were resolved.

"So the combination of not being able to get engine three to reach chill down and then the vent valve issue that they saw at the inner tank really caused us to pause today and we felt like we needed a little more time," he said.

Sarafin added that he is hopeful about the second launch opportunity on Sept. 2.

"There is a non-zero chance we have a launch opportunity on Friday," he said.

"But we need time, we really need time to look at all the all the information, all the data and, you know, we're gonna play all nine innings here and we're not ready to give up yet," Sarafin continued.