NASA delays Artemis moonshot to March after hydrogen leaks stop test

NASA said its astronauts’ planned lunar fly-around is off until at least March after hydrogen fuel leaks forced the agency to halt the countdown dress rehearsal of its new rocket during fueling operations at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

In a statement after the test was stopped, NASA launch team manager John Honeycutt said the hydrogen leak problem “caught us off guard,” adding that the agency had been aiming for the next opportunity for humanity’s first moon trip with astronauts in more than half a century.

NASA officials said the delay will extend the time needed before committing the crew of four astronauts — three U.S. and one Canadian — to the mission. They said the postponement allows the launch team to conduct another fueling test before the next attempt, and NASA did not provide a specific date for when the countdown dress rehearsal might be repeated.

Managers said repairs could likely be completed at the pad for components such as deformed or damaged seals or other parts, but they warned that a return to the Vehicle Assembly Building would probably add additional time. They also said it was too soon to know when the countdown dress rehearsal could be run again.

The leaks began early in Monday’s loading operation and recurred hours later, ultimately forcing controllers to stop the countdown clocks at the five-minute mark. Launch controllers had been working toward a deeper countdown, down to a half-minute, but they said escaping hydrogen exceeded safety limits.

NASA said it interrupted the flow of liquid hydrogen — at about minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 253 degrees Celsius) — and tried warming the area between the rocket and fuel lines in an effort to reseat any loose seals. Officials said those steps did not resolve the issue, nor did altering the hydrogen flow, though NASA previously reported that similar kinds of changes later allowed the first SLS rocket to fly without a crew in 2022.

With the launch now postponed to at least March 6, commander Reid Wiseman and the crew were given the all-clear to leave quarantine in Houston. Wiseman later said on the social platform X that he was proud of how the dress rehearsal went, “especially knowing how challenging the scenario was for our launch team doing the dangerous and unforgiving work.” The crew is set to reenter quarantine two weeks before the next launch attempt.

Officials said the extreme cold at the launch site did not contribute to the fuel leaks or other problems. They said heaters kept the Orion capsule warm atop the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket and that constant purging protected the rocket and ground systems during the test.

At a news conference, Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s associate administrator, said the Space Launch System remains “an experimental vehicle,” stressing that additional lessons must be learned and noting that years between fueling tests and flights do not help.

NASA has only a handful of days each month to send missions around the moon, officials said. The nearly 10-day Artemis mission that begins with the lunar fly-around will not include a moon landing or entry into lunar orbit; instead, it is designed to check life support and other vital systems ahead of a later moon landing by other astronauts.

The launch delay comes after NASA’s earlier experience with hydrogen leaks: officials said the same type of issue previously delayed the debut of the Space Launch System rocket, grounding test activity for months after leaking hydrogen.

The Artemis program is targeting new territory for future missions, including the moon’s south polar region, and aims to keep crews on the lunar surface for longer periods than earlier Apollo-era flights, when NASA sent 24 astronauts to the moon during the 1960s and 1970s.