NASA has successfully completed a full “wet dress rehearsal” for its Artemis II mission, but will stand down from a February launch attempt following several technical issues, pushing the earliest possible liftoff into March as engineers review data and repeat critical tests.
The two-day rehearsal, which concluded early Tuesday morning at Kennedy Space Center, marked the first time the Space Launch System rocket was fully loaded with cryogenic propellant for the Artemis II flight. Teams fueled the SLS core and upper stages, completed Orion spacecraft closeout operations at the launch pad, and safely drained the vehicle, a major prelaunch milestone for NASA’s first crewed lunar mission since Apollo.
While the test met many of its core objectives, NASA officials said several issues emerged during the countdown that warrant additional analysis and a second rehearsal before committing to a launch date.
Among the most significant challenges was a liquid hydrogen leak at an interface feeding propellant into the rocket’s core stage. Engineers spent several hours troubleshooting the issue, repeatedly pausing tanking operations to allow hardware to warm and seals to reseat before adjusting propellant flow. The leak ultimately triggered an automated halt to the countdown during a simulated terminal sequence at roughly five minutes remaining.
Engineers also addressed a valve associated with the Orion crew module hatch that required retorquing, while closeout procedures at the pad took longer than planned. Cold temperatures at Kennedy Space Center delayed the start of fueling operations and affected cameras and other ground equipment, though NASA said the conditions did not compromise the overall test.
In addition, recurring audio communication dropouts among ground teams, an issue NASA has been tracking for weeks, reappeared during the rehearsal and will require further mitigation ahead of launch.
Despite those hurdles, NASA successfully filled all propellant tanks and deployed a five-person team to the launch pad to complete Orion closeout work, including updated safety procedures such as purging Orion’s service module cavities with breathing air instead of gaseous nitrogen to ensure safe conditions for personnel going forward.
As previously reported by The Daily Wire, Artemis II is intended as a crewed lunar flyby designed to validate Orion, SLS, and ground systems ahead of future missions aimed at returning astronauts to the Moon’s surface and establishing a sustained human presence beyond low Earth orbit.
With the launch window now moving to March, the Artemis II crew, Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, will be released from quarantine. The astronauts entered health stabilization on January 21 and were tentatively scheduled to travel to Florida this week. NASA said the crew will reenter quarantine approximately two weeks before the next targeted launch opportunity.
Teams will now analyze data from the rehearsal, address each technical issue, and conduct additional testing before setting an official launch date for the mission.
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