NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says the giant rocket that will send four astronauts to the moon on the historic Artemis 2 mission must be pushed back from its launch pad to solve a technical problem.
The 10-day exercise, originally scheduled to take place in March, has now been pushed back to April. “I understand people are disappointed with this development,” Isaacman said via X. “That disappointment is deeply felt by the NASA team, which has worked tirelessly to prepare for this massive effort.”
The technical problem arose just days after a successful launch pad test at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Data from the upper stage of the Space Launch System rocket registered disruptions in the flow of helium, which is used to pressurize fuel tanks and clean engines. “Last night, the team couldn’t get the helium out of the car,” Isaacman wrote today. “This happened during normal operation to repress the system.”
Isaacman said the helium pressurization system worked well during wetsuit practice this week. Accordingly, a problem with the helium valve that arose during the preparation of the unmanned Artemis 1 mission to orbit the moon in 2022, led NASA managers to take corrective measures.
The current problem may be due to a failure at any of several points in the helium supply system. “Regardless of what the fault might be, accessing and fixing any of these issues can only be done at the VAB,” Isaacman said, referring to the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building where the SLS and its Orion crew capsule were assembled for launch.
With March out of the question, the next available launch dates for Artemis 2 are April 1 and April 3-6. The mission aims to send three NASA astronauts and a Canadian astronaut into orbit 8 around the moon – which would mark the first time humans have traveled beyond Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. A successful Artemis 2 mission will pave the way for Artemis 3’s moon landing.
Many companies in the Seattle area are banking on Artemis’ success.
For example, the Redmond facility operated by L3Harris (formerly known as Aerojet Rocketdyne) builds thrusters for the Orion spacecraft and is already working on the Artemis 8 mission. Boeing is the lead contractor for the main stage of the SLS rocket. And Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, based in Kent, is developing a Blue Moon lander that aims to put an Artemis crew on the moon by 2030. Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is expected to send a version of the unloaded cargo to the moon sometime in the next few months.
