By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
NASA rolled its Artemis II moon rocket off the launch pad Wednesday and began transporting it back to its hangar at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center for additional repairs, delaying the next attempt to send astronauts around the moon.
The 322-foot Space Launch System rocket had remained at the launch pad for about a month in preparation for a potential liftoff. However, a series of technical issues prompted managers to order a rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building, located roughly 4 miles away.
The move, carried out atop NASA’s massive crawler-transporter, was expected to take most of the day.
The decision to return the rocket to the hangar followed a malfunction in the vehicle’s helium pressurization system. Managers ordered the rollback over the weekend after determining that the issue required further work that could not be completed at the pad.
The mission had already faced a monthlong delay caused by hydrogen fuel leaks detected during earlier preparations. Prior to the helium issue, launch teams had been targeting March for the Artemis II flight, which would mark the first time astronauts travel toward the moon in decades.
With the additional repairs now required, the lunar fly-around mission — which will carry a U.S.-Canadian crew — has been postponed until at least April.
The four astronauts assigned to Artemis II attended President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday evening as invited guests. Because of the delay, they are no longer required to remain in quarantine for an imminent launch window.
Artemis II is part of NASA’s broader Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar vicinity and eventually establish a sustained presence there. The upcoming mission will not land on the moon but will conduct a crewed fly-around, serving as a key test ahead of future lunar landing attempts.
Original article
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