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NASA delays astronaut moon mission again after new rocket problem
Helium flow interruption in the Space Launch System's upper stage requires rollback to Vehicle Assembly Building, removing March launch window and shifting Artemis II mission to April, NASA said.
- On Saturday, NASA said overnight data showed an interruption in helium flow into the Space Launch System interim cryogenic propulsion stage and crews began rollback preparations from Launch Pad 39B to the Vehicle Assembly Building.
- NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said `a bad filter, valve or connection plate could be to blame` for stalled helium flow, similar to Artemis I in 2022.
- Following a Thursday dress rehearsal, managers targeted March 6, but rollback preparations take that out of consideration, with the beginning or end of April as next options.
- The program's timeline already shows delays from hydrogen fuel leaks earlier this month, highlighting recurring challenges as Artemis II will send four astronauts on a lunar fly-around.
- Technicians are removing temporary platforms while engineers worked through the night troubleshooting, and NASA said a more extensive briefing later this week is expected, Isaacman said, `This was an unexpected development during routine helium flow operations last evening`.
253 Articles
253 Articles
Less than a day has lasted the optimism in NASA with Artemis 2. Last Friday the space agency saw clear that it could launch that mission — the first crew to surround the Moon since 1972 — after finally successfully completing a general test of takeoff: they had managed to overcome previous problems of fuel leakage.However, hours later a new breakdown was detected in the upper stage of the SLS rocket.Continue reading
NASA has once again postponed the first manned mission around the Moon since 1972. The Artemis 2 mission has been delayed by several weeks due to technical problems.
One more postponement: the Nasa mission that will have to perform an orbit around the Moon will not start before April 1st. A malfunction in the helium flow emerged in one of the stages of the Sls rocket
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