NASA announced a delay in its long-awaited moon mission on Saturday after the agency moved to roll back its Artemis II rocket and Orion spacecraft from its launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida following a technical glitch.
According to NASA, the issue is related to an interruption in the rocket’s helium flow, a key requirement for the launch to proceed. “Teams are actively reviewing data and taking steps to enable rollback positions for NASA to address the issue as soon as possible while engineers determine the best path forward,” the agency said.
“This will almost assuredly impact the March launch window,” it added. “NASA will continue to provide updates.”
The decision came only a day after the space agency set a March 6 launch date for the historic mission, which will send astronauts around the moon for the first time since the Apollo program ended more than fifty years ago.
“I understand people are disappointed by this development,” NASA administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on X. “That disappointment is felt most by the team at NASA, who have been working tirelessly to prepare for this great endeavor,” he added.
The Artemis II rocket is developed by a consortium of manufacturers, including Boeing (BA) and Northrop Grumman (NOC), while Lockheed Martin (LMT) serves as the prime contractor for the Orion spacecraft.