Hyperdrive
NASA Opts for Familiar Caution in Scrubbing Moon Rocket’s Launch
- ‘Complexity is daunting,’ NASA head Nelson tells reporters
- Launch delay after engine issue follows cautious protocol
This article is for subscribers only.
NASA’s latest rocket demonstrated one of the biggest and most enduring frustrations that comes with launching new and highly complicated space technology: waiting.
Though expectations were high for Monday’s scheduled first launch of NASA’s new Space Launch System rocket, or the SLS, the space agency was careful to temper expectations ahead of the planned lift-off. It emphasized that this was a test flight and that engineers were still learning how to work with the still-untested rocket.