WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - NASA said that it plans to roll back the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft for Artemis II off the launch pad to the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at approximately 9 a.m. ET, Wednesday, to address the helium flow issue.
Teams will continue to monitor winds and temperatures in advance of the roll.
The approximately 4-mile trek is expected to take up to 12 hours, the U.S. space agency said in a press release. Once back in the VAB, teams will immediately begin work to install platforms to access the area of the helium flow issue. Teams also will also try to replace batteries in the flight termination system and retest it, and replace additional batteries in the upper stage.
Artemis II, a lunar spaceflight mission led by NASA, is the first crewed mission around the Moon, and beyond low Earth orbit, since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The 10-day mission will carry U.S. astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a free-return trajectory around the Moon and back to Earth.
The earliest launch window for Artemis II was set for early February, but it was postponed to March due to a liquid hydrogen leak that occurred during the countdown. After a successful wet dress rehearsal, a helium flow issue was observed on February 21, triggering a rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building and delaying the mission to April.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has stated that an actual launch date will only be confirmed after a successful wet dress rehearsal is complete and the results are analysed.
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