NASA’s moon rocket is about to leave the launchpad, but it ain’t going skyward

The four astronauts preparing to end a five-decade gap in crewed lunar flights will have to wait until at least April before they can begin the Artemis II mission.

During the SLS rocket’s second wet dress rehearsal last weekend, NASA discovered an issue with the flow of helium to the rocket’s upper stage.

Engineers decided that to fix the problem, the massive rocket, which is currently on the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will have to be transported back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). That four-mile rollback to the VAB is expected to take place on Tuesday, February 24.

On Monday, NASA confirmed that as a result of the latest issue, the rocket will no longer be launching on the recently announced March 6 target date, adding that the Artemis II mission will now lift off “no earlier than April 2026.”

NASA added: “The quick work to begin preparations for rolling the rocket and spacecraft back to the VAB potentially preserves the April launch window, pending the outcome of data findings, repair efforts, and how the schedule comes to fruition in the coming days and weeks.”

The Artemis II crew members — NASA’s Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch, along with the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen — left quarantine on Saturday evening and remain at NASA’s facility in Houston, Texas.

NASA originally targeted February 8 for the launch, but another issue in the first wet dress rehearsal prompted a delay, with NASA then announcing March 6 as a possible launch date. But that, too, has now been disregarded, with the team currently looking to launch in April.

The much-anticipated mission will involve the crew performing detailed tests on the Orion spacecraft’s systems while flying around the moon, with a smooth journey paving the way for a crewed lunar landing in the Artemis III mission, which could take place before the end of this decade.

Interested in following the 10-day mission when it finally gets underway? NASA recently shared a fascinating video revealing exactly how the flight is expected to unfold.