New Launch Date in March? Hydrogen Leak: NASA Must Postpone Manned Moon Flight

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The first manned moon flight since 1972 continues to be delayed: Due to hydrogen leaks during tests, NASA must postpone the launch of "Artemis 2." The issue is not new.

More than five decades after the last Apollo mission, NASA aims to send astronauts back to the Moon. However, the timeline is slipping: Following problems during the dress rehearsal, the launch of "Artemis 2," which was initially scheduled for next week, must now be postponed.

"We are now targeting March as the earliest possible launch date," NASA chief Jared Isaacman announced on platform X after the test. The mission is not intended for a landing on the Moon. Instead, life support systems and other critical components of the capsule will be tested during the nearly ten-day flight.

In a few years, manned moon landings are to follow—this time in the lunar South Pole region and for longer durations, unlike the Apollo programmes of the 1960s and 1970s.

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Problems During Rocket Refuelling

The dress rehearsal, known as the "Wet Dress Rehearsal," took place at the Cape Canaveral spaceport in Florida. During this multi-hour process, all operations were rehearsed—including refuelling the rocket with cryogenic liquid oxygen and hydrogen, a full countdown with planned hold points, and the controlled abort and re-initiation of the launch sequence in case of technical issues or adverse weather conditions.

During the refuelling of the heavy-lift rocket "Space Launch System," hydrogen leaks occurred during the test, NASA explained at a press conference afterwards. The procedure had to be interrupted multiple times, and adjustments did not help. Eventually, the countdown was halted.

Additionally, the cold affected some cameras, and audio transmission from the ground was intermittently lost, NASA explained. "We absolutely expected to encounter challenges," Isaacman wrote. The purpose of such tests is to discover problems so that they can be resolved before the launch day.

Not the First Time Hydrogen Leaks Have Occurred

However, such leaks had previously delayed the maiden flight of the same rocket for months three years ago. Following that, various design improvements were made. "Honestly, it surprised us this time," said John Honeycutt from mission management on Tuesday. Amit Kshatriya, NASA's Deputy Administrator, emphasised that the rocket system is an "experimental" vehicle, from which many lessons still need to be learned. "Every rocket is unique," just as each flight to the Moon will always be unique. The long-term goal, he stated, should be to increase the testing and flight rate to learn more quickly.

New Date for Onward and Upward

Isar Aerospace Delays Second Test Flight to March

New Launch Date Currently Unclear

The cause of the leaks is now to be investigated. A specific new launch date will only be determined after evaluating all test data. A delay of at least a month should give the launch team enough time to conduct a new dress rehearsal in due course. There are only a few launch windows per month to send astronauts around the Moon, meaning that the Earth, Moon, and spacecraft must be properly aligned. The current launch window for "Artemis 2" extends until April.

NASA believes that modifications can be implemented quickly. Repairs to deformed or damaged seals or other components, which might be a possible cause of the leaks, could likely be conducted directly at the launch pad. The crew for the mission—four astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen—did not actively participate in the ground test. They had been in preparatory quarantine in Texas for days but were able to leave due to the postponed launch. They will enter quarantine again two weeks before the next launch attempt.