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Nasa moon rocket faces another glitch, March crew launch at risk

Officials revealed the latest problem just one day after targeting March 6 for humanity's first flight to the moon in more than half a century

NASA
Representative image from file.
AP Cape Canaveral (US)
1 min read Last Updated : Feb 21 2026 | 10:40 PM IST

NASA's new moon rocket has suffered another setback, putting next month's planned launch with astronauts in jeopardy, the space agency announced Saturday.

Officials revealed the latest problem just one day after targeting March 6 for humanity's first flight to the moon in more than half a century.

Overnight, the flow of helium to the rocket's upper stage was interrupted, they noted. Solid helium flow is required for launch.

NASA said it is reviewing all the data and preparing, if necessary, to return the Space Launch System rocket to the hangar for repairs at Florida's Kennedy Space Centre. It's possible the work could be done at the launch pad; the space agency said engineers are protecting for both options.

"This will almost assuredly impact the March launch window," NASA said in a statement.

Hydrogen fuel leaks had already delayed the Artemis II lunar fly-around by a month. A second fuelling test on Thursday revealed hardly any leaks, giving managers the confidence to aim for a March 6 liftoff.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Topics :NASAAstronautsInternational News

First Published: Feb 21 2026 | 10:40 PM IST

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