CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA – NASA has halted a crucial fueling test of its Artemis 2 rocket after persistent hydrogen leaks, pushing the planned lunar mission back by at least a month. As the agency works to diagnose the issue, officials acknowledge that the problem echoes a similar incident during Artemis 1’s testing three years ago.
The test, known as a “wet dress rehearsal,” began late Saturday, January 31, and was scheduled to continue through Tuesday morning. It aims to simulate a full launch countdown, including fueling the Space Launch System (SLS) with over 700,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
Initially, fueling proceeded smoothly after mission managers authorized the process on Tuesday. However, hydrogen leaks were detected at the SLS tail service mast umbilical quick disconnect on the launch pad, prompting technicians to halt fueling and troubleshoot the problem.
This location has been a recurring trouble spot; Artemis 1 experienced similar leaks during its rehearsal in 2020, which ultimately led to multiple rollbacks to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and delayed the mission. Artemis 1 successfully launched in November 2022, carrying the uncrewed Orion spacecraft on a month-long lunar orbit mission.
For Artemis 2, NASA plans to test Orion’s systems with astronauts onboard, including NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The 10-day mission will orbit the far side of the Moon, serving as a critical step toward future lunar landings.
“We learned a lot from Artemis 1, and we applied many of those lessons during yesterday’s rehearsal,” said Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator of NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, during a post-test briefing.
This mission will be historic, as it marks the first crewed lunar orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972, nearly 55 years ago, and aims to pave the way for human landings on the Moon’s surface in future Artemis missions.