US EditionNASA will return its moon rocket to the hangar for more repairs before astronauts strap in
NASA discovered a helium flow issue critical for engine purge and fuel tank pressurization, causing a rollback and likely delaying Artemis II launch to April, officials said.
- This week NASA's Artemis II moon rocket is headed back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs and is grounded until at least April, with Tuesday targeted for the slow rollback.
- Engineers had just finished repeat fueling tests when NASA detected a helium-system malfunction disrupting helium flow to the upper stage, needed to purge engines and pressurize fuel tanks.
- The three Americans and one Canadian assigned to Artemis II remain on standby in Houston, and the mission will be the first human lunar flight since the Apollo program’s 24 astronauts.
- NASA said the quick rollback preparations aim to preserve an April launch attempt, but emphasized the timeline depends on repair speed with limited monthly launch opportunities for the crew of four.
- Consecutive propellant issues—hydrogen leaks then helium malfunction—further delay astronauts' first trip to the moon in more than half a century and complicate NASA's return to deep-space exploration.
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NASA targets Wednesday for rollback of Artemis II rocket and spacecraft
Artemis II: the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft at Launch Pad 39B, on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) (MERRITT ISLAND, Fla.) — Weather conditions have again delayed operations leading to the launch of the Artemis II rocket mission to the moon. The rollback of the Artemis II rocket and spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida was originally scheduled f…
Efforts to get NASA's historic mission to the Moon to take off have failed once again, after engineers faced a new problem with the rocket that was supposed to drive four astronauts into a...
A new problem throws four astronauts’ impending moon journey into uncertainty
By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — Efforts to get NASA’s historic moon mission off the ground have stalled once again, as engineers navigate a new issue with the rocket set to propel four astronauts on an unprecedented path. The agency announced Saturday that it had detected a problem with flow of helium, a gas that’s used to pressurize fuel tanks and clean out propellant lines, in the upper part of the Space Launch System, or SLS, moon rocket. Now,…
NASA’s next moon mission faces new setback — launch delayed by a month
NASAs planned mission to return humans to the moon will be delayed again after engineers discovered an interrupted flow of helium to the Artemis II Space Launch System rockets interim cryogenic propulsion stage.This is the second time the astronauts two-week quarantine has been interrupted because of a mechanical issue. NASA announced last week that the launch could occur as soon as March 6.The agency now targets an April launch.RELATED STORY | …
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