Artemis II launch delayed to March after issues with fuel leaks

Fuel leaks during a wet dress rehearsal have forced NASA to delay the launch of Artemis II for two months.

The agency said it had loaded the cryogenic propellant into the Space Launch System (SLS) tanks but that there was a liquid hydrogen leak in a part that takes the propellant into the core of the rocket.

Engineers spent several hours troubleshooting the issue.

They were able to fill all tanks in both the core stage and the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and started a countdown, but had to cut it short when there was a spike in the liquid hydrogen leak rate.

There was also a valve replaced on the Orion crew module hatch that needed retorquing and the process took longer than planned.

Finally, there were issues with cameras due to cold weather and dropouts in communications over the past few weeks, including during the wet dress rehearsal.

NASA is now looking at March for the earliest possible launch for the Artemis II mission. The astronauts will be released from quarantine, but will return about two weeks before the next planned launch.

Space.com said the possible launch dates could be March 6 through 9, March 11 or if need be, April 1, 3 to 6 or 30.

Four astronauts will blast off on Artemis II on a 10-day trip that will circle the moon and return to Earth, Space.com reported.