NASA Moves Artemis II Moon Rocket Off Launch Pad for Repairs

The slow-motion trek back to the Vehicle Assembly Building is expected to take all day.

Feb. 25, 2026 at 9:18pm

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NASA has moved its grounded Artemis moon rocket from the launch pad back to its hangar at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for more repairs. The 322-foot Space Launch System rocket had been at the pad for a month, but encountered a series of problems, including a malfunctioning helium pressurization system, that required the rocket to be rolled back to the assembly building about 4 miles away.

Why it matters

The Artemis II mission is set to be the first crewed flight of NASA's new moon rocket and spacecraft, marking the first time astronauts have traveled to the moon since the Apollo program ended in the 1970s. The delay in the launch schedule means the mission will now likely happen no earlier than April, rather than the previously targeted March timeline.

The details

The slow-motion trek of the Artemis II rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building is expected to take all day. The rocket had been at the launch pad for a month, ready for potential liftoff, but encountered a series of problems serious enough to require the rollback for more repairs. The launch team had been targeting March for the first crewed flight to the moon in decades, but the rocket's helium pressurization system malfunction has pushed the mission to at least April.

  • The Artemis II rocket had been at the launch pad for a month.
  • NASA ordered the rollback over the weekend after the rocket's helium pressurization system malfunctioned.
  • The Artemis II lunar fly-around by a U.S.-Canadian crew is now off until at least April.

The players

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and space research.

Artemis II

The second mission in NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon, with the first crewed flight of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.

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What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

This delay in the Artemis II mission highlights the technical challenges and complexity involved in developing and launching NASA's new moon rocket and spacecraft, as the agency works to achieve its goal of returning astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in over 50 years.