According to a senior official, NASA is allegedly considering making a third try to launch its Artemis I Moon rocket on September 23. The Artemis I SLS-Orion spacecraft could be launched by the US space agency on September 23 or September 27. Days after NASA postponed the rocket's launch for the second time owing to a fuel leak, the revised dates were made public. The agency has another major test relating to planetary defence against near-Earth objects, which is expected to take place later this month.
Jim Free, NASA's Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development, reportedly said on Thursday that September 23 and September 27 could be the next potential dates for the next Artemis I launch attempt. After the second attempt last month was cancelled, this will be NASA's third attempt to launch the spacecraft.
According to the official, the launch windows for these days begin at 6:47am EDT (4:17pm IST) and 11:37am EDT (9:07pm IST), respectively. NASA will have an 80-minute launch window on September 23 and a 70-minute launch window on September 27.
It's also worth mentioning that NASA has another significant event planned for that week: on September 26, its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will strike an asteroid in an attempt to defend the earth from near-Earth asteroids.
Free wrote on Twitter, "We are examining our loading procedures to ensure resolution. We will retain @NASA SLS and @NASA Orion at the [launch]pad as we assess a seal on one of our fuel feed lines and test the repair under cryogenic conditions.
According to the source, the launch of Artemis I is still dependent on the ability of the space agency to obtain a waiver allowing it to avoid retesting batteries for an emergency flight system designed to destroy the rocket — if it were to deviate from its intended path to the Moon. NASA's preparations to launch the rocket might allegedly take several more weeks without the permission.
