NASA aims for Sept. 3rd launch of new moon rocket

NASA will try again to launch its new moon rocket on a test flight, after engine trouble halted the first countdown this week. Managers said they are changing fueling procedures to deal with the issue.
The 322-foot rocket - the most powerful one ever built by NASA - remains on its pad at Kennedy Space Center with an empty crew capsule on top. The Space Launch System rocket will attempt to send the capsule around the moon and back. No one will be aboard, just three test dummies. If successful, it will be the first capsule to fly to the moon since NASA’s Apollo program 50 years ago. According to NASA's rocket program manager, proceeding toward a Saturday launch will provide additional insight, even if the problem reappears and the countdown is halted again. Astronauts could strap in as soon as 2024 for a lap around the moon and actually attempt a lunar landing in 2025.