At this point, if someone tells you that NASA has delayed the Artemis II mission again, the most logical thing to do is to think that they are kidding you, because the list of accumulated delays is starting to border on comedy. And last but not least, because after announcing that the last tests were successful, a few hours later we learned that the mission planned in the window that opened on March 6 has been postponed again and the rocket is returning to its “garage”.
The new culprit. If one of the big enemies was hydrogen, which had already forced us to postpone the first date we had to 2026, now the focus was on helium. And after the second general fuel test we saw last Friday, engineers discovered a new technical problem with the SLS super rocket’s propulsion system.
In particular, it is the interruption of the flow of helium at the intermediate cryogenic stage. And this is not a small amount, as this gas is absolutely necessary to purge the engines and pressurize the cryogenic fuel tanks to ensure the safety of the mission. And while everything worked fine on the pretests, the system said “enough” on the posttest.
To the starting box. As NASA itself confirmed on its official blog on February 21 of this year, as well as Jared Isaacman, the current administrator of the agency, via X, the team is evaluating the situation, but the decision has already been made: rollback. Repairs cannot be done outdoors on the launch pad, forcing the giant SLS back into the garage, technically known as the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).
Possible causes of this failure range from a clogged filter to a failed umbilical interface or non-return valve, which are technical specters that are dangerously reminiscent of the problems that already plagued Artemis I in 2022 and which created a situation of constant delays that took all the seriousness out of the mission.
New window. With March completely off the calendar, everything points to April if it passes quickly enough and passes the next general test. Although, from what we’ve seen, fixing one problem causes a whole other problem, so talking about a date is really silly.
Chronology. Listing all the critical points in a mission that returned four men to lunar orbit is an almost titanic and memory challenge, but we’re going to illustrate it to give context to the delays we’ve seen in this mission that’s been going on for years.
- It all started in November 2024, which was the original launch date.
- During 2024, the mission was rescheduled from September 2025 to April 2026 following the discovery of severe damage to the Orion capsule’s heat shield during Artemis I.
- In March 2025, it was noted that the mission could be pushed back to February 2026.
- January 2026: A winter storm delays traffic to the launch pad.
- February 2, 2026: The first dress rehearsal is interrupted with 5 minutes remaining due to a liquid hydrogen leak.
- February 21, 2026: After fixing the leak, the second rehearsal is successful and announces the March 6th date with much fanfare… and eventually the helium fails, throwing March overboard.
Doubts in the future. The bad experience with Artemis I and II already makes us question everything NASA is planning in the future. Artemis III is the next major space project, the goal of which is to land on the south pole of the Moon and set foot on the lunar soil again. A mission that has already been delayed until 2027 to perfect the capsule and spacesuits.
But the real focus is on Mars, with the goal of getting humans to set foot on the red planet for the first time. A much more difficult mission as it involves a much greater distance and mission time, requiring the astronauts to travel for many more days, with all the safety implications that entails.
China. The great rival of the United States in this space race, which has a large political component behind it. And while NASA turns its calendars to wet paper, on the other side of the world, China’s space program follows a methodical rhythm, opaque in its crises but for now relentless in its dates.
For now, the goal is to put Tyconauts on the lunar surface by 2030, and although the United States still has the time advantage, the image contrast is stark: while the SLS suffocates between hydrogen leaks and helium failures under the global spotlight, the China Space Agency (CNSA) continues a string of millimeter successes with its robotic Chang’e missions.
Images | POT
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