Artemis II headed back to the bay; helium issues force another delay

The quest to return to the Moon has hit another snag. NASA is delaying Artemis II again, as interrupted helium flow to the rocket’s upper stage forces a rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and wipes out the March launch window.

The US space agency said on Saturday that it was troubleshooting interruptions in the flow of helium to the rocket's interim cryogenic propulsion stage, which uses the lighter-than-air gas to maintain environmental conditions in the stage's engine and pressurize the stage’s liquid hydrogen and oxygen propellant tanks. Related systems worked during the most recent Artemis II wet dress rehearsal that concluded on February 19, with NASA noting that helium flow issues didn't emerge until reconfiguration and other operations following the test. 

NASA said on Saturday that it was preparing for a rollback to the VAB, which would mean Artemis II would miss the ...