On February 21, NASA officials said that engineers had problems recharging pressure for helium tanks on the upper layer of the Artemis II mission rocket on the night of January 20 (local time).
The incident forced NASA to take the giant rocket off the launch pad and return to the assembly plant for inspection. Accordingly, the mission, which was already delayed, will have to be postponed from March to early April.
Compressed helium is used to push fuel into the rocket engine when activated and to clean the fuel pipes before the main fuel flow passes through. It is not yet clear why helium could not flow back to the upper layer of the SLS rocket after a successful countdown exercise ended on February 19.
No matter what the potential error is, access and remedy can only be done at the spacecraft assembly plant (VAB). We will begin preparing to bring the rocket back, and this means that the launch window in March is no longer considered" - NASA Director Jared Isaacman wrote on social network X.
I understand everyone is disappointed with this development. The greatest disappointment belongs to the NASA team, who have worked tirelessly for this mission," Mr. Isaacman added.
A NASA spokesman confirmed that the launch in March is no longer feasible and technical teams have switched to preparing to take the missile off the launch pad.
The Artemis II mission is expected to take 4 astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada Jeremy Hansen to fly past the distant surface of the Moon and return, in order to comprehensively test the Orion spacecraft before paving the way for the Artemis III lunar landing mission in 2028.
Due to the continuous changes in the Earth and Moon positions and lighting factors, there are only a few launch opportunities each month to meet Artemis II's requirements. The current launch phase ends on the 11th. 3. Available days in April are 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th. 4.
Initially, the 4 astronauts hoped to launch earlier this month, but a hydrogen leak detected in the "overall countdown" drill has pushed the flight schedule back to March.
