To fix the problem, NASA has to roll SLS and the stacked Orion spacecraft back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Weather permitting, teams will begin the rollback process on Tuesday, according to a Sunday update.

The rocket’s core stage will be loaded with more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic fuel during the upcoming tanking phase.

SLS still has helium leaks. Helium leaks have been a problem since the Space Shuttle days. It is so cold that it is hard to work with. The picture is of the

During the lead-up to NASA’s Artemis 1 mission back in 2022, recurring hydrogen leaks led to significant delays and a cancelled launch attempt. The agency had three years to address the underlying issues with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s hardware,

Excess hydrogen concentration in a tail service mast umbilical interface had brought the countdown to an end during the first test.

Fast forward to the present day. The Space Launch System has flown only once, during the Artemis I mission, and is preparing to fly again with Artemis II. According to the NASA Office of Inspector General, the Space Launch System costs $4 billion per flight, not to speak of the immense amount of money to develop the rocket.

A NASA test to confirm repairs to seals in the SLS’s liquid hydrogen fueling system was only partially successful because of problems with ground equipment.