NASA faced a challenge during the fueling process of its latest moon rocket on Monday, as a leak occurred while conducting a crucial test to determine the readiness for astronauts to embark on a lunar fly-around mission.
The operation began at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the rocket being filled with super-cold hydrogen and oxygen. Over 2.6 million liters of fuel needed to be loaded into the tanks and maintained onboard for several hours to simulate the final stages of a real countdown.
However, after only a few hours, an excess of hydrogen was detected near the rocket’s base, leading to a temporary halt in hydrogen loading with only half of the core stage filled. Loading recommenced after an hour, but was briefly paused again before resuming in the afternoon.
The launch team utilized techniques developed during a previous Space Launch System (SLS) rocket launch to address the issue. Astronauts Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, along with NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, monitored the crucial dress rehearsal from Houston, nearly 1,600 kilometers away. The crew had been in quarantine awaiting the outcome of the practice countdown.
This test will determine the timeline for the crew to launch on the first manned lunar mission in over 50 years. A delay of two days due to frigid weather has pushed the schedule back, but if the fuelling demonstration is successful, NASA aims to launch Commander Wiseman and his team to the moon as early as Sunday.
The mission must take off by February 11 to avoid postponement until March, as NASA has limited launch opportunities each month. The upcoming 10-day mission will take the astronauts around the moon’s far side and back to Earth to test the capsule’s systems, without entering lunar orbit or attempting a landing. NASA’s Artemis program seeks to establish a sustained presence on the moon, with Wiseman’s crew paving the way for future lunar expeditions.