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More delays for NASA's moon rocket test, fueling stalled

NASA Moon Rocket
Posted at 1:10 PM, Apr 05, 2022
and last updated 2022-04-05 16:10:25-04

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s dress rehearsal for its mega moon rocket has been postponed twice now by technical problems that stalled a fueling test.

Launch managers tried Sunday and again Monday to load nearly 1 million gallons of fuel into the rocket. Balky fans at the launch pad and then a stuck valve halted the attempts.

The countdown test is the last major milestone before the rocket launches on a test flight with an empty capsule on top.

A NASA manager said Tuesday the team will wait until SpaceX launches private passengers to the International Space Station before taking another crack at the fueling test.

That launch is scheduled for April 8.

NASA hopes to resume manned missions to the moon by 2024. Lunar flights were paused after 1972.