NASA’s Moon Rocket Faces Fuel Leak During Critical Test, Delaying Lunar Mission

According to the Economic Desk of Webangah News Agency, NASA’s critical test of its new Space Launch System (SLS) moon rocket was disrupted by a significant fuel leak, casting uncertainty on when astronauts can be launched for a lunar mission. The incident, reminiscent of delays during the rocket’s first launch three years ago, occurred just hours after fueling operations at Kennedy Space Center.

Launch controllers began loading supercold hydrogen and oxygen into the 98-meter rocket at noon, with over 700,000 gallons (2.6 million liters) required to fill the tanks. The process, simulating final stages of a real launch countdown, was halted multiple times as hydrogen accumulated at the rocket’s base. Teams employed techniques developed during the SLS’s 2022 test flight, which also faced hydrogen leaks before its uncrewed success.

The four astronauts assigned to this mission—three Americans and one Canadian—monitored the test from Houston’s Johnson Space Center, approximately 1,600 km away. Having been in quarantine for two weeks, they await results determining if NASA can proceed with the first crewed moon mission in over 50 years.

If successful, NASA could launch Commander Reid Wiseman and his crew as early as next Sunday. The rocket must launch by February 11; otherwise, the mission will be postponed to March. Limited launch windows, further reduced by extreme cold, allow only a few days per month for attempts.

This 10-day mission will orbit the moon’s far side before returning to Earth, testing life-support systems without landing. NASA’s Artemis program aims to establish sustained lunar presence, building on 1960s-70s Apollo missions.