CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA on Tuesday began a countdown to another practice launch for its first crewed lunar landing in decades, after a flight that had been delayed until March while a dangerous fuel leak was fixed.
Two weeks ago, the first refueling test was halted by a liquid hydrogen leak, and three years ago the Artemis program’s first unmanned flight was disrupted by such a leak.
The launch team replaced a pair of seals and a clogged filter on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, where the giant moon rocket was sitting, and began the countdown. The two-day test will culminate on Thursday with an attempt to fill the rocket’s fuel tanks. Four Artemis 2 astronauts will monitor the important rehearsal from a distance.
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A successful, leak-free test is needed before NASA can set a launch date. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket could launch as early as March 6. Officials had considered moving it forward by three days but said additional time was needed to analyze the refueling test results.
The last time astronauts flew to the moon was in 1972 during NASA’s Apollo program.
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