NASA reveals Artemis I's next launch attempt
The latest attempt comes after the megarocket has been delayed three times due to technical difficulties and weather
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NASA's Artemis I is gearing up for another launch attempt on Nov. 14. The 69-minute launch window will open at 12:07 a.m. Eastern time.
Artemis I is an uncrewed test flight that will launch the agency's Space Launch System and send its Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back to Earth. The new date comes after the megarocket's liftoff has been delayed three times due to factors including weather and technical difficulties.
The first attempt in August was scrubbed due to a rocket engine temperature issue, while the second attempt in early September was scrubbed because of a fuel leak. Artemis I was later rolled back into its hangar at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to protect it from Hurricane Ian.
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The agency, which plans to roll Artemis I back onto Launch Pad 39B as early as Nov. 4, said in a blog post on Wednesday that minimal work is required to prepare SLS and Orion for its rollout.
"Teams will perform standard maintenance to repair minor damage to the foam and cork on the thermal protection system and recharge or replace batteries on the rocket, several secondary payloads, and the flight termination system," NASA said.
NASA's Artemis I rocket sits on launch pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 2, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. | Getty Images
If the launch on Nov. 14 is successful, Orion will travel into space for about 25-and-a-half days with splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 9. Assuming the test goes well, astronauts would then climb aboard for Artemis II to fly around the moon and back as soon as 2024. NASA is aiming to send the first woman and person of color to the lunar surface by 2025.
If the Nov. 14 launch is scrubbed, NASA's next launch opportunities would be Nov. 16 at 1:04 a.m. and Nov. 19 at 1:45 a.m., with both attempts having two-hour launch windows.
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The 322-foot rocket is the most powerful ever built by NASA, out-muscling even the Saturn V that took the Apollo astronauts to the moon. Contractors who have worked on SLS and Orion include Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne.
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Astronauts last walked on the moon in 1972.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.