Jeremy Hansen, Canadian Space Agency
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Canadians will have to wait longer to see astronaut Jeremy Hansen take to the skies and become the first Canadian to fly on a mission around the moon after NASA delayed the Artemis II launch because of fuel system problems.
NASA says the earliest possible launch window for the historic mission has slipped to March after engineers detected a liquid hydrogen leak during a full countdown rehearsal of the Space Launch System rocket at the Kennedy Space Center. The mission had been targeting a launch as early as next week.
The issue surfaced during a wet dress rehearsal, a critical test in which the rocket is loaded with super chilled propellants and teams simulate launch day procedures. NASA said engineers encountered several challenges, including hydrogen leaks and a valve problem linked to the Orion crew capsule.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the delay will allow teams to review data and conduct another rehearsal, adding that identifying issues before flight is the purpose of such tests and essential to mission safety.
The setback means Hansen and his three American crewmates will be released from quarantine, which they entered in January, and will return to isolation roughly two weeks before the next launch attempt.
Artemis II is the second mission in NASA’s Artemis program and the first crewed flight of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. The 10 day mission will send four astronauts on a journey around the far side of the moon, stopping short of a landing but testing life support and other critical systems ahead of a future lunar landing.
For Canada, the delay extends the wait for a milestone moment. Hansen, a former fighter pilot and Canadian Space Agency astronaut, is set to become the first Canadian and the first non American to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
NASA said hydrogen leaks also complicated testing ahead of the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022, underscoring the challenges of working with the volatile fuel used to power the rocket.
Despite the delay, NASA says the mission remains on track to pave the way for Artemis III, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface later this decade.
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