NASA’s Artemis 2 mission has hit another snag. Just one day after announcing a target launch date of March 6, the agency discovered a helium flow problem in the rocket’s upper stage and now the 322-foot Space Launch System is being rolled back off Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center for repairs.
The issue lies in the rocket’s Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS). Helium is essential to the system: it pressurizes the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant tanks and purges the engines ahead of ignition. Engineers were unable to get helium flowing through the vehicle during a routine repressurization procedure after the second wet dress rehearsal, even though the system worked correctly during both rehearsals themselves. NASASpaceFlight
NASA chief Jared Isaacman confirmed Sunday that the rocket will be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building — the cavernous 52-story hangar where the rocket was originally assembled, as soon as Tuesday, February 24 (weather permitting). The available launch dates in April are the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. Spaceflight Now
NASA noted that quickly beginning rollback preparations could help preserve the April window, depending on what the data shows and how repairs proceed. NASASpaceFlight It is not yet clear exactly what is blocking the helium flow, though NASA is reviewing data from the Artemis I mission in 2022, which encountered a similar helium-related issue before launch. NPR
Artemis 2 will carry four astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a figure-8 loop around the Moon. It would be the first crewed mission beyond Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972, and would pave the way for Artemis 3’s planned lunar landing. This is the second delay for the mission in recent weeks, after hydrogen leaks were found during an earlier fueling test.
Frustrating, but the right call, better to fix it on the ground than discover the problem on the way to the Moon.
