The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced a delay of at least a month in its highly anticipated Artemis-II mission.
The reason for the delay is the detection of fuel leaks during a crucial pre-launch test of the rocket by engineers.
For Artemis II, four astronauts were about to begin a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. It was scheduled to take off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
However, NASA announced that the launch would be postponed until March, without a specific date.
The problem was identified during a “wet dress rehearsal,” a full countdown simulation in which the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket was loaded with very cold liquid hydrogen and oxygen.
During the refueling process, engineers detected hydrogen leaks. Additionally, there was a problem with a valve related to the Orion crew capsule.
More than 2.6 million liters of propellant were loaded during the test, which was interrupted several times to address safety concerns.
Officials confirmed that teams will conduct a detailed review of the data and may conduct another rehearsal before clearing the rocket for flight.
