A day after seemingly getting some positive news, the news from Kennedy Space Center today is not good. NASA is preparing to potentially move the Artemis 2 rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building due to a helium flow issue.
NASA said it noticed that the flow of helium to the Space Launch System (rocket’s) interim cryogenic propulsion stage was interrupted overnight. NASA was reviewing the data ahead of a possible roll back of the massive rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building.
“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. In order to protect for troubleshooting options at both Pad B and the VAB, teams are making preparations to remove the pad access platforms installed yesterday, which have wind-driven constraints and cannot be removed during high winds, which are forecasted for tomorrow.”
NASA said that “this will almost assuredly impact the March launch window.”
More to come.