Nasa aims for November 14 launch for delayed Artemis 1 Moon rocket mission

US astronaut Stanley Glen Love speaks after the launch of the Artemis I unmanned lunar rocket was postponed, at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Nasa called off the test flight on August 29 2022 because of a temperature issue with one of the four engines. AFP

The Artemis I rocket remains sitting on the launch pad. Getty Images / AFP

The next launch opportunity is on September 3, Nasa said. Getty Images / AFP

The new Moon rocket that was due to blast off as part of the Artemis 1 mission sits on the launch pad. Nasa postponed the lift-off for technical reasons on Monday in Cape Canaveral, Florida. All photos onwards: AP

The Artemis 1 mission will orbit the Moon with the aim of putting astronauts back on the lunar surface.

Spectators at the Kennedy Space Centre hours before the scheduled Nasa Moon rocket launch.

The Orion spacecraft sits atop a Space Launch System rocket at the centre in Florida.

Nasa aims to launch the Artemis 1 Moon rocket on November 14 after previous attempts were disrupted by technical issues and extreme weather.

The US space agency’s mission has faced a number of delays, most recently due to safety concerns over Hurricane Ian, which struck Florida.

The 101-metre Space Launch System rocket, with the Orion spacecraft on top of it, was rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building in Kennedy Space Centre to shelter it from the storm.

Nasa said it will transport the rocket back to the launch pad on November 4.

“Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test to launch SLS and send Orion around the Moon and back to Earth to thoroughly test its system before flights with astronauts,” Nasa said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Inspections and analyses over the previous week have confirmed minimal work is required to prepare the rocket and spacecraft to roll out to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida following the roll-back due to Hurricane Ian.”

There is a 69-minute launch window on November 14 that opens at 12.07am EST, or 8.07pm GST.

There are also back-up dates for November 16 and November 19, both of which offer a two-hour launch window.

Nasa's first launch attempt of Artemis 1 on August 29 failed owing to what engineers believed was a rocket engine cooling problem.

Its second attempt on September 3 also failed after engineers detected a hydrogen leak.

Nasa was targeting September 27 for a lift-off before the hurricane hit.

“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,” said Nasa.