NASA postpones Artemis II mission: helium issues force rocket return to hangar

The American agency NASA has officially ruled out the possibility of launching the Artemis II mission in March 2026. This decision follows the identification of a critical fault in the helium supply system in the upper stage of the Space Launch System rocket. Engineers discovered a leak in the helium installation, which plays a key role in maintaining pressure in the fuel and oxidizer tanks. Due to the location of the damaged component, repair was not possible directly on launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As a result, the entire stack, consisting of the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule, was transported back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) hangar using a crawler-transporter. This operation, although routine, is time-consuming and requires the highest safety standards. Experts emphasize that helium is much more difficult to manage than the commonly troublesome hydrogen, making the current fault particularly troublesome. The new launch date has been tentatively set for April 2026, but the final date depends on the pace of repair work and subsequent system leak tests. The Artemis program is the spiritual successor to the Apollo program, which in 1969 enabled the first human landing on the Moon. The Artemis II mission is to be the first crewed flight beyond low Earth orbit since 1972, although this time without landing on the surface of the Silver Globe. This delay is another blow to NASA's ambitious schedule, which envisions returning humans to the lunar surface as part of the Artemis III mission. The Artemis II expedition is expected to last about ten days and take a crew, consisting of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen, on a free-return trajectory around the Moon. However, technical challenges with the SLS raise questions about the cost-effectiveness of the program implemented by traditional government contractors in the face of progress by private companies. „We don't fly until we are ready. Safety is our North Star.” — NASA Administrator Bill Nelson Meanwhile, the company SpaceX is intensifying preparations for the next test flight of the Starship system, putting NASA in a difficult negotiating position. The Artemis II delay automatically casts a shadow on the schedule of subsequent missions, as the success of the crewed flight is a necessary condition for testing the HLS lander systems. However, the agency assures that despite the difficulties, the priority remains the complete elimination of the risk of failure before allowing astronauts on board.