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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s ambitious plan to return astronauts to the moon has encountered another delay, with the latest hitch likely pushing the first crewed lunar mission in decades to the spring, officials announced on Saturday.
Just one day after setting a target date of March 6 for the Artemis II mission, which aims to send humans around the moon for the first time in over 50 years, NASA disclosed a new complication involving the rocket’s upper stage. The flow of helium, crucial for purging engines and pressurizing fuel tanks, was interrupted overnight, according to the agency.
This helium issue is unrelated to the hydrogen fuel leaks that previously disrupted a countdown dress rehearsal for the Space Launch System rocket earlier this month, causing a repeat of the test.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman suggested potential causes for the disrupted helium flow might include a faulty filter, valve, or connection plate. He emphasized that resolving the issue would require accessing the rocket in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center.
“We will prepare for rollback, which means the March launch window is no longer feasible,” Isaacman stated on social media platform X. NASA’s next potential launch windows are in early or late April.
Earlier in the morning, NASA said it was preparing to return the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket to its hangar for repairs, while raising the possibility of the work being done at the pad.
“I understand people are disappointed by this development,” Isaacman said. “That disappointment is felt most by the team at NASA, who have been working tirelessly to prepare for this great endeavor.”
Hydrogen fuel leaks had already delayed the Artemis II lunar fly-around by a month. A second fueling test on Thursday revealed hardly any leaks, giving managers the confidence to aim for a March liftoff. The four astronauts went into their two-week quarantine Friday night, mandatory for avoiding germs.
The interrupted helium flow is confined to the SLS rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage. This upper stage is essential for placing the Orion crew capsule into the proper high-altitude orbit around Earth for checkout, following liftoff. After that, it’s supposed to separate from Orion and serve as a target for the astronauts inside the capsule, allowing them to practice docking techniques for future moon missions.
During NASA’s Apollo program, 24 astronauts flew to the moon from 1968 through 1972. The new Artemis program has completed only one flight so far, a lunar-orbiting mission without a crew in 2022. That first test flight was also plagued by hydrogen fuel leaks before blasting off, as well as a helium issue similar to the one that arose Saturday. The first moon landing with a crew under Artemis is still at least a few years away.
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