After weeks of fuel leaks and other issues, NASA faced what officials described as a trouble-free countdown Tuesday on the eve of an Artemis II astronaut launch attempt from Cape Canaveral, Fla., with the weather looking favorable as well.
Officials reported that the moon rocket was doing well on the pad, and forecasters said conditions appeared promising, setting the odds of favorable weather at 80%. The launch team’s focus then turned to the remaining steps leading to an evening send-off, with the agency moving through the countdown without the problems that had disrupted earlier runs.
“Everybody’s pretty excited and understands the significance of this launch,” said senior test director Jeff Spaulding. The Artemis II mission’s four astronauts will become the first lunar visitors since Apollo 17 in 1972, making a trip around the moon without landing or even orbiting, then returning directly afterward.
NASA said it had faced setbacks before the current schedule. Hydrogen fuel leaks had pushed the flight back from February to March, and later clogged helium lines pushed it again to April. The space agency also said it has only a handful of days each month to send the three Americans and one Canadian to the moon, underscoring the limited windows for both technical readiness and weather.
Confident that the issues are fixed, NASA planned to begin fueling the 32-story Space Launch System rocket on Wednesday morning for the evening launch attempt.