Artemis 1 moon mission is ‘go’ for Saturday launch: NASA

During a discussion today, the Artemis 1 team firmly decided to go ahead with a liftoff attempt on Saturday, September 3, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida (Sept. 1).
When the moment arrives, a two-hour window beginning at 2:17 p.m. EDT will allow you to witness the anxiously awaited launch live right here on Space.com (1817 GMT).
There’s no guarantee that we’ll get off on Saturday, but we’re going to try, mission manager for Artemis Mike Sarafin stated at a news conference this evening (Sept. 1).
Originally planned to launch on Monday morning (August 29), Artemis 1 was delayed due to an issue with one of the four RS-25 engines that power the SLS core stage that was identified during the countdown.

artemis 1 moon rocket — Image Credit: NASA

According to NASA officials, such thermal conditioning, achieved by “bleeding” supercold liquid hydrogen propellant into the RS-25s, lessens the shock when the engines ignite.

The effort on Monday was canceled because the Artemis 1 team was unable to resolve the problem before the launch window ended.

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Team members claimed at a news conference on Tuesday night that more investigation over the course of the following day or two indicated that the problem wasn’t severe and that the evidence pointed to a malfunctioning temperature sensor in the defective RS-25 engine (Aug. 30).

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They identified Saturday as the planned launch date and expressed confidence that Artemis 1 wouldn’t be on the ground for very long.

Mission team members revealed at this evening’s news conference that the conclusion has been solidified after two more days of effort and deliberation.