Engineers ran into problems repressurizing the Artemis II moon rocket’s upper stage helium tanks overnight Friday, a problem that will require rolling the huge rocket off the launch pad and back to its processing hangar for troubleshooting. The work will push the already delayed mission from March into early April, NASA officials said Saturday.
Pressurized helium is used to push propellants to rocket engines for ignition and to purge various fuel lines to clear them out before propellants flow. It’s not yet known what might be preventing helium from flowing back into the SLS rocket’s upper stage following a successful countdown rehearsal test that ended Thursday.
“Regardless of the potential fault, accessing and remediating any of these issues can only be performed in the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building),” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a post on the social media platform X. “We will begin preparations for rollback, and this will take the March launch window out of consideration.”
A NASA spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that a March launch is no longer possible and the teams have switched to rollback preparations.
“Teams are reviewing potential causes of the issue, including in the interface between ground and rocket lines used to route helium, in a valve in the upper stage, and with a filter between the ground and rocket,” NASA said in a statement on Saturday.
The Artemis II mission aims to send four astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on a flight around the far side of the moon and back to thoroughly test the agency’s Orion deep space capsule to help clear the way for a lunar landing mission, Artemis III, in 2028.
Because of the ever-changing positions of the Earth and moon, and associated changes in lighting and other factors, only a handful of launch opportunities are available each month that meet the Artemis II mission requirements.
(Yahoo News)
