The Artemis II Moon mission has been delayed again – this time possibly by a month. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman has revealed that teams found a problem in the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) – the second stage – of the SLS rocket and this requires removing the vehicle from the launch pad. He said that this will “almost assuredly impact the March launch window,” leaving NASA with launch opportunities available only in April.
“After overnight data showed an interruption in helium flow in the SLS interim cryogenic propulsion stage, teams are troubleshooting and preparing for a likely rollback of Artemis II to the VAB at @NASAKennedy,” Isaacman posted on X Saturday.
As an update to my earlier post.
– The ICPS helium bottles are used to purge the engines, as well as for LH2 and LOX tank pressurization. The systems did work correctly during WDR1 and WDR2.
– Last evening, the team was unable to get helium flow through the vehicle. This… https://t.co/Qte3nEXwQb
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) February 21, 2026
While he mentioned potential reasons for the interrupted flow, Issacman said that accessing and fixing the issue is only possible in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), six kilometres from the launch pad 39B.
The rocket was rolled out to the pad on January 17 and was initially targeted for launch on February 8.
Huge setback for NASA
The bad news from Isaacman comes just a day after NASA confirmed March 6 as the launch date for Artemis II, following a successful wet dress rehearsal (WDR). It was the second pre-flight exercise after the one in early February which was marred by propellant leaks. Engineers had just fixed the leakage and reduced flow in the core stage of the rocket during the two WDRs. Besides, four astronauts part of this mission had also entered the mandatory 14-day quarantine at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
During a press conference after the rehearsal – when teams loaded over 7,00,000 gallons of propellant in the SLS rocket’s core stage and conducted a full launch countdown – Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, had said that NASA is ready for the Moon mission.
Now the agency is preparing to roll back the rocket to the VAB and Isaacman has promised an extensive briefing soon on Artemis II and subsequent missions.
“I understand people are disappointed by this development. That disappointment is felt most by the team at NASA, who have been working tirelessly to prepare for this great endeavor,” the administrator said via X. Citing Neil Armstrong’s Gemini 8 mission, which preceded Apollo 11, Isaacman vowed, “We will return in the years ahead, we will build a Moon base, and undertake what should be continuous missions to and from the lunar environment.”
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