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NASA to Roll Artemis II Back to Vehicle Assembly Building After Helium Fault, Targeting April Liftoff

Engineers will inspect upper-stage helium interfaces after a post-test flow failure.

Overview

  • A post–wet dress reconfiguration blocked helium flow to the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, taking March launch dates off the table.
  • The SLS and Orion stack is slated to traverse roughly 6.4 kilometers back to the Vehicle Assembly Building once winds allow, a multi‑hour crawler operation.
  • Teams are examining the ground-to-rocket interface, an upper‑stage valve, or an inline filter as possible sources of the loss of flow.
  • NASA is holding April launch opportunities from April 1 through April 30, contingent on data reviews and repair outcomes.
  • The four-person crew has been released from quarantine as work continues toward a roughly 10‑day lunar flyby by Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen.