On December 17, NASA announced a delay of the launch of the Artemis 1 mission until no earlier than March 2022. Artemis 1 will be the first launch of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to the Moon.
The latest delay was caused at least in part by efforts to resolve a problem with an RS-25 engine controller on the rocket’s Core Stage. The issue first occurred in late November; after four weeks of troubleshooting, NASA decided to replace the controller, which will take place over the next few weeks.
An updated forecast of when the Artemis 1 hardware will be ready to launch will depend on how long it takes to install a spare engine controller and fully resolve the problem.