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In Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA’s ambitious plans for returning astronauts to the moon have hit another snag. Their massive lunar rocket, which was grounded until at least April, is now scheduled to return to the hangar for further repairs. This comes as engineers work to resolve a series of technical issues before astronauts can safely embark on their historic mission.
The journey back to the hangar is set for Tuesday, with the rocket undertaking a careful four-mile (6.4-kilometer) crawl across the Kennedy Space Center, weather conditions permitting. This move follows a critical fueling test completed last Thursday aimed at addressing hazardous hydrogen fuel leaks. Just as NASA engineers were gaining confidence in the repairs, a new complication emerged.
The latest setback involves a malfunction in the rocket’s helium system, which has further postponed the anticipated lunar mission, the first in over 50 years. NASA had already tackled the hydrogen leak problem and set a tentative launch date for March 6, a timeline that was already delayed by a month. However, the helium issue surfaced unexpectedly, disrupting the helium flow essential for engine purging and fuel tank pressurization in the rocket’s upper stage.
This time, the rocket’s helium system malfunctioned, further delaying astronauts’ first trip to the moon in more than half a century.
Engineers had just tamed the hydrogen leaks and settled on a March 6 launch date — already a month late — when the helium issue arose. The helium flow to the rocket’s upper stage was disrupted; helium is needed to purge the engines and pressurize the fuel tanks.
“Returning to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy is required to determine the cause of the issue and fix it,” NASA said in a statement.
NASA said the quick rollback preps preserve an April launch attempt, but stressed that will depend on how the repairs go. The space agency has only a handful of days any given month to launch the crew of four around the moon and back.
The three Americans and one Canadian assigned to the Artemis II mission remain on standby in Houston. They will become the first people to fly to the moon since NASA’s Apollo program that sent 24 astronauts there from 1968 through 1972.
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