NASA pushes on with costly rocket tests amid cancellation threats
NASA's big plan to send astronauts back to the Moon—aka the Artemis program—just faced a tough moment.
During a key test, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket's hydrogen engine had its exhaust nozzle fail, scattering debris.
Even with President Trump pushing to cancel SLS and switch to SpaceX, NASA is sticking with it for now.
But after this setback, this engine won't fly until at least the fifth launch—if the program even gets that far.
SLS has already cost $23 billion
The SLS project has already cost $23 billion, and each launch could run up to $4.2 billion—a serious price tag that's drawing criticism.
The Trump administration wants to cut costs by switching over to SpaceX after three launches, while Congress is debating whether to extend SLS for two more flights (which means even more spending).
Despite all this drama, NASA says it's still committed to getting people back on the Moon.