Moon Launch Delayed Until March

The Artemis-II rocket was powered up and run through a complete countdown down to the 5-minute mark. 

The goal of the 'wet dress rehearsal' was to test every system on the rocket up to the point of igniting the engines. Fueling the rocket. Powering up and operating all the electronic systems on the rocket and Orion crew spacecraft. Communications between the ground and the spacecraft. This is routine for launches.

During the test countdown, excessive amounts of hydrogen escaped from the connection between the launch platform and the rocket. This was similar to the leaks that delayed the 2022 Artemis-1 launch.

Due to the time required to troubleshoot and fix the leak, meeting the February launch dates was not possible. 

These are the 'launch window' dates available for in March: 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11. The April launch dates would be 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 30.

The astronauts will spend the additional month conducting further practice in the simulators, while ground crews will perform practices as well. 

The goal of such practice is so that the crew and ground teams know instinctively all possible actions they will take during the mission to the Moon, and how to handle any emergencies.

Stay tuned.