Hydrogen leak forces NASA to postpone second Artemis launch attempt

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - NASA was forced to postpone its second Artemis I launch attempt Saturday after engineers were unable to fix a hydrogen leak that sprung during fueling.

The agency made the announcement just hours before the launch window was set to open.

"One of the things we have to realize is that this is the very first flight for [Space Launch System] and this is an engineering test. We’re finding out how the vehicle actually performs, what it’s going to operate like, things like that," said Emily Judd, an aerospace engineer at NASA Langley Research Center that made the trip to Florida to see the launch in person.

Judd, a member of the Lunar Architecture Team, spoke with News 3 live Saturday morning about why she had decided to make the trip.

"I think it is so exciting that this time, when we go back to the moon, we're going as all of humanity," said Judd, referencing plans to land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface. "We're really looking at what comes next. How do we make our presence on the moon a more sustainable presence? How do we prepare for longer-duration missions to Mars?"

But before any of those questions can be answered, NASA first has to prove its rocket can get Artemis astronauts to the moon safely.

Artemis I is an uncrewed mission that will take the Orion space capsule past the moon and back to Earth. Artemis II is planned as a crewed mission taking a similar route.

The plan is for Artemis III to bring astronauts to the lunar surface sometime in 2025 or 2026.

A leak and engine troubles scrubbed an initial attempt to launch Artemis I on Monday and NASA rescheduled the launch for Saturday afternoon after getting those issues fixed.

The next launch window is currently scheduled for Monday, September 5.