NASA will make a second attempt to launch its powerful new Moon rocket on Saturday, after scrubbing a test flight earlier in the week, an official said.

Blastoff had been planned for Monday morning but was canceled because a test to get one of the rocket's four RS-25 engines to the proper temperature range for launch was not successful.

Mike Sarafin, mission manager of Artemis 1 at NASA, announced the date for the new launch attempt -- a key step in the US program to return astronauts to the Moon -- during a media briefing on Tuesday.

The goal of Artemis 1, named after the twin sister of Apollo, is to test the 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule that sits on top.

The mission is uncrewed -- mannequins equipped with sensors are standing in for astronauts and will record acceleration, vibration and radiation levels.

Tens of thousands of people -- including US Vice President Kamala Harris -- had gathered to watch the launch, which comes 50 years after Apollo 17 astronauts last set foot on the Moon.

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Saturn V was loud but didn't melt concrete
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 30, 2022
The Saturn V carried man to the moon and remains the most powerful rocket to successfully launch to orbit. It captures the imagination - but sometimes, it might capture a bit too much imagination. Abundant internet claims about the acoustic power of the rocket suggest that it melted concrete and lit grass on fire over a mile away. Such ideas are undeniably false. In The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, published on behalf of the Acoustical Society of America by AIP Publishing, researc ... read more