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NASA Pushes Artemis II to March After Hydrogen Leak Halts Countdown

A safety review followed by a second fueling rehearsal will precede any new launch date.

Overview

  • NASA stopped the wet dress rehearsal at T-5:15 when sensors saw a liquid hydrogen leak at the tail service mast umbilical.
  • Managers will analyze test data and run at least one more full fueling rehearsal before naming a date, with launch opportunities on March 6–9 and 11 and backups in early April.
  • Teams loaded and drained more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellant and logged ancillary issues including audio dropouts and a hatch pressurization valve that required retorquing.
  • The four-person crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen—has exited quarantine and will reenter about two weeks before the next attempt for the 10-day lunar flyby.
  • The slip clears a February slot for SpaceX’s Crew-12 mission to the ISS, while a decision on rolling the rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building remains unresolved.