- Today
- Holidays
- Birthdays
- Reminders
- Cities
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Berwyn
- Beverly Hills
- Birmingham
- Boston
- Brooklyn
- Buffalo
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Fort Worth
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Knoxville
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Louisville
- Madison
- Memphis
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- New York
- Omaha
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- Raleigh
- Richmond
- Rutherford
- Sacramento
- Salt Lake City
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Seattle
- Tampa
- Tucson
- Washington
NASA Delays Moon Rocket Launch for More Repairs
Space agency to return rocket to hangar for fixes before Artemis II mission
Feb. 23, 2026 at 2:49am
Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›
NASA's massive Space Launch System (SLS) moon rocket is being rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center for additional repairs, delaying the planned Artemis II mission to the moon until at least April. The space agency said a helium system malfunction cropped up after they had just resolved hydrogen fuel leaks, pushing the launch date back further.
Why it matters
The Artemis II mission will be the first crewed flight of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, paving the way for future lunar landings. Delays in the program's development have pushed the timeline for a human return to the moon, which was originally targeted for 2024 under the Artemis program.
The details
NASA said the rocket will make the four-mile trek back to the hangar on Tuesday, weather permitting, so engineers can investigate and fix the helium system issue. This comes after the agency had just completed a repeat fueling test to address hydrogen leaks that had previously delayed the launch. The Artemis II mission, which will send four astronauts on a flyby around the moon, was originally targeted for March 6 but is now pushed to no earlier than April.
- NASA plans to roll the rocket back to the hangar on Tuesday, February 28, 2026.
- The Artemis II mission was previously targeted for a March 6, 2026 launch, but is now delayed to no earlier than April.
The players
NASA
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the federal agency responsible for the country's civilian space program, aeronautics research, and space exploration.
Space Launch System (SLS)
NASA's powerful new rocket designed to send astronauts to the Moon as part of the Artemis program.
Artemis II
The second mission in NASA's Artemis program, which will send four astronauts on a flyby around the Moon, the first crewed mission of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.
What’s next
NASA said the quick rollback to the hangar is aimed at preserving an April launch attempt for Artemis II, but stressed that will depend on how the repairs go. The space agency has only a handful of launch opportunities each month to send the Artemis II crew of four astronauts around the Moon and back.
The takeaway
The latest delay in the Artemis program's development highlights the technical challenges of building a new deep-space exploration system, as NASA works to return humans to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era. Resolving these issues will be crucial to keeping the Artemis timeline on track and enabling future lunar landing missions.
