NASA Targets March Window for Artemis II After Hydrogen Leak Halts Rehearsal

Overview

• An automated abort ended the wet dress rehearsal about five minutes before engine ignition when sensors flagged elevated hydrogen in a cavity between umbilical plates at the SLS core stage interface.
• NASA has released the February opportunity and is working toward the next available window in early March, with coverage citing March 6–11 as the earliest target period.
• The four-person crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen—has left quarantine and resumed training while engineers execute the repair plan.
• The rehearsal fully loaded the rocket with more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellant and exercised countdown and safing procedures, with teams also noting intermittent ground audio issues and extended Orion shutdown steps.
• Officials say hydrogen’s cryogenic properties make leaks a known risk that testing is designed to catch, and broader schedules, including Artemis III, remain sensitive to upstream technical and partner milestones.