Artemis 1: Nasa cancels moon mission launch over engine problem

US space agency technicians working against the clock to correct engine bleed' in time for possible rescheduled lift-off on Friday

Nasa is delaying a decision on the timing of its next launch attempt for Artemis 1, the US space agency's first human-rated moon rocket in 50 years, after calling off Monday's scheduled liftoff late in the countdown because of an issue related to engine bleed".

Engineers at Nasa's launch complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida, discovered the problem with one of the four core-stage engines of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket during overnight loading of 2.76m litres (730,000 gallons) of liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel needed to send the spacecraft off on its 1.3m-mile, 42-day journey to the far side of the moon and back.