CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s new moon rocket suffered another setback Saturday, putting next month’s planned crewed launch in jeopardy.
The space agency disclosed the latest problems just one day after humanity’s first moon landing in more than half a century is scheduled to take place on March 6. Officials said the flow of helium to the rocket’s upper stage was disrupted overnight. Launch requires a flow of solid helium.
The helium issue is not related to a hydrogen fuel leak that disrupted a countdown rehearsal for the Space Launch System rocket earlier this month and forced it to repeat testing.
NASA said it is reviewing the data and is preparing to return the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket to a hangar at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for repairs if necessary. It’s possible the work could be done on the launch pad; NASA says engineers are preparing for both options.
“This will almost certainly impact the March launch window,” NASA said in a statement.
A hydrogen fuel leak has delayed Artemis 2’s mission around the moon by a month. A second refueling test on Thursday found few leaks, giving managers confidence that a March takeoff will be achieved. On Friday night, the four astronauts began a two-week quarantine, a mandatory quarantine to avoid germs.
The interrupted helium flow was limited to the SLS rocket’s temporary cryogenic propulsion stage. This upper stage is critical to placing the Orion crew module into the correct high-altitude orbit around Earth for post-launch inspections. It should then separate from Orion and serve as a target for astronauts inside the capsule, allowing them to practice docking techniques for future lunar missions.
During NASA’s Apollo program, from 1968 to 1972, 24 astronauts flew to the moon. The new Artemis program has completed just one flight so far, a lunar mission in 2022 without a crew. The first test flight was also plagued by a hydrogen fuel leak before launch. The first astronaut landing on the moon under Artemis is still at least a few years away.
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