Fuel leak delays preparations for NASA rocket launch

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER    -    As NASA on Saturday resumed its second effort to get its new 30-story rocket off the ground and send its uncrewed test capsule toward the Moon, engineers detected a fuel leak that potentially could lead to a new delay. With millions around the globe and hundreds of thousands on nearby beaches waiting for the historic launch of the massive Space Launch System (SLS), a leak near the base of the rock­et was found as ultra-cold liquid hydrogen was being pumped in. NASA said engineers would “stop flowing liquid hydrogen to the tank, close the valve used to fill and drain it,” then try to reseal it. The space agency offered no in­formation on the likelihood of a new delay in the Artemis program -- which aims eventually to return a human crew to the Moon -- follow­ing Monday’s aborted effort.

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