NASA now targeting Sept 3 for Artemis I flight test around the Moon

NASA is now targeting Saturday, September 3, for the launch of the Artemis I flight test around the Moon. The two-hour launch window for the mission will open at 2:17 p.m. ET, the agency said on Tuesday.

Artemis I is the first integrated test of NASA's Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The announcement comes a day after the first launch attempt on August 29 was scrubbed due to an issue getting one of the four RS-25 engines on the bottom of the rocket's core stage to the proper temperature range for liftoff.

Teams have reviewed the data from Monday's launch attempt of the #Artemis I mission and are moving forward with a second launch attempt on Sat., Sept. 3, with a two-hour launch window starting at 2:17 p.m. EDT (18:17 UTC). pic.twitter.com/oDr5plGhqS

— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) August 30, 2022

In the coming days, teams will modify and practice propellant loading procedures to follow a procedure similar to what was successfully performed during the Green Run at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The updated procedures would perform the chilldown test of the engines, also called the kick start bleed test, about 30 to 45 minutes earlier in the countdown during the liquid hydrogen fast fill liquid phase for the core stage, NASA said in a statement.

The mission management team will reconvene Thursday to review data and overall readiness.