NASA pushed Artemis I launch to September 2, with September 5 as a backup date, after a fuel leak and then an engine problem during final liftoff preparations led to a postponement on Monday. 

Also read: NASA postpones Artemis I launch: 4 issues spacecraft faced

The Artemis I mission is a part of a programme that aims to put the first female astronaut and the first astronaut of colour on the South Pole of the Moon. The American space agency’s primary objective is focused on lunar exploration. Since Apollo 17 in 1972, Artemis 3 will be the it’s first crewed Moon landing mission.

As precious minutes ticked away Monday morning, NASA repeatedly stopped and started the fueling of the Space Launch System rocket with nearly 1 million gallons of super-cold hydrogen and oxygen because of a leak of highly explosive hydrogen. The leak happened in the same place that saw seepage during a dress rehearsal back in the spring.

Also read: What are the important aspects of NASA’s Artemis programme?

Then, NASA ran into new trouble when it was unable to properly chill one of the rocket’s four main engines, officials said. Engineers continued working to pinpoint the source of the problem after the launch postponement was announced.

“This is a very complicated machine, a very complicated system, and all those things have to work, and you don’t want to light the candle until it’s ready to go,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Referring to launch delays, Nelson said: “It’s just part of the space business and it’s part of, particularly, a test flight.”

The sic-week mission was scheduled to end with the capsule returning to Earth in a splashdown in the Pacific in October.

Also Read | Items Artemis I is carrying: From Snoopy toy to Apollo 11 mission patch

“The launch director halted today’s Artemis I launch attempt at approximately 8:34 a.m. EDT. The Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft remain in a safe and stable configuration,” NASA said in its press release. 

“Launch controllers were continuing to evaluate why a bleed test to get the RS-25 engines on the bottom of the core stage to the proper temperature range for liftoff was not successful, and ran out of time in the two-hour launch window. Engineers are continuing to gather additional data,” it added. 

The 322-foot (98-meter) spaceship is the most powerful rocket ever built by NASA, out-muscling even the Saturn V that the Apollo astronauts rode.