NASA is taking steps to potentially roll back the Artemis II rocket and Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after overnight Feb. 21 observing interrupted flow of helium to the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket's interim cryogenic propulsion stage.
Artemis 2 is a precursor to the US space agency's planned astronaut moon landing with Artemis III scheduled for 2028.
-- Al Jazeera English (@aljazeera.com) Feb 21, 2026 at 3:30 PM
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Update...
US: Technical issues force NASA to postpone moon mission
www.dw.com
... The US space agency NASA on Saturday announced that an issue with the flow of helium to the upper stages of its SLS rocket has left engineers with no option but to again postpone the launch of the agency's first manned moon mission in 50 years.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said that a bad filter, valve or connector plate could have stalled helium flow, explaining that the 322-foot-tall (98-meter) rocket would have to be rolled back into the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to allow specialists to track down the source of the problem.
"We will begin preparations for rollback, and this will take the March launch window out of consideration," Isaacman said via X. NASA's next opportunity will likely come in April. ...
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