KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA just pushed back the Artemis 2 wet dress rehearsal until Monday.
If everything runs smoothly during the critical pre-launch test, the new earliest launch date would be Feb. 8.
Feb. 8 also happened to be Super Bowl Sunday.
Artemis 2 is aiming to send a crew of four astronauts around the moon and back to Earth.
The delay comes as two former NASA scientists are raising concerns with the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield, which is designed to protect astronauts from heat during their re-entry.
They said the heat shield uses a material from the 1960s that cracked during the uncrewed Artemis 1 test flight in 2022.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said he has full confidence in the heat shield.
Channel 9 will continue to monitor the planned mission and provide updates on Eyewitness News.
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