Artemis I launch scrubbed after engine problems

NASA’s Space Launch System, which the space agency hopes will take American astronauts back to the moon, has been in development for more than a decade. But today will be the first time NASA attempts to launch the multibillion-dollar rocket, the most powerful NASA has ever built.

The development of the SLS has been controversial. Several inspector general reports have dinged the project for being over budget and criticized NASA for paying performance bonuses to the prime contractor, Boeing, even though the project is years behind schedule.

But despite those setbacks, Congress has continued to fund the program, which has cost $23 billion and counting — far more expensive than the rockets now being used by commercial space companies such as SpaceX. Critics often refer to the SLS as the “Senate Launch System.”

Weather or technical issues could force NASA to delay the launch to another day, but when the SLS flies, the space agency says it will mark a major milestone in its ambitious Artemis program to create a sustainable presence on and around the moon. Read moreSubscribe to The Washington Post on YouTube