NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced on Saturday that the agency is actively exploring solutions to fueling complications affecting the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in preparation for the Artemis III mission.
Slated to be the first crewed mission to land on the Moon since the Apollo program over five decades ago, Artemis III faces critical preparations. Meanwhile, Artemis II, currently stationed on the Kennedy Space Center launch pad in Florida after missing its launch window earlier this month, is undergoing preparations for a second countdown rehearsal next week. This rehearsal aims to verify if technicians have resolved a hydrogen fuel leak that disrupted a practice countdown on February 2.
Artemis II marks the inaugural crewed flight for the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, planning a nearly 10-day mission to transport four astronauts around the far side of the Moon and return them to Earth.
Fueling challenges have been an ongoing issue for the Space Launch System. A similar leak postponed the SLSās first test flight by several months in 2022. Ground teams believed they corrected the issue by adjusting the super-cold liquid hydrogen loading procedure into the rocketās core stage. However, during a test on February 2, the leak re-emerged, revealing the problem persists.
"Considering the issues noted during the Artemis I preparations and the extended interval between missions, encountering challenges as we gear up for Artemis II should not be surprising," Isaacman stated on the social media platform X. "This doesnāt excuse the issues, but we comprehend the situation. I commend the NASA team and our contractors for their diligent efforts throughout this campaign."
Engineering teams traced the fueling faults to ground support equipment, specifically fuel leak origins linked to the area where fueling lines on the rocket's launch platform connect to the core stageās base. Two Tail Service Mast Umbilicals (TSMUs) facilitate the routing of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the rocket during countdowns, which then disconnect and retract into protective housings at launch.