NASA plans March launch of moon despite leaks

Cape Canaveral, Feb. 4: NASA said Tuesday it will now target a March launch of its new moon rocket after running into exasperating fuel leaks during a make-or-break test a day earlier.

The space agency said in a statement that the launch delay will "allow teams to review data and conduct a second wet dress rehearsal" before the flight test.

The leaks — reminiscent of the rocket's delayed debut three years ago — sprang just a couple hours into the daylong fueling operation Monday at Kennedy Space Center and called into question how soon astronauts could take off.

NASA said the four astronauts tasked for the flight will be moved out of their nearly two-week quarantine. NASA added they will enter quarantine again "about two weeks" before the next launch window for the trip around the moon.

The agency gave no indication of an official launch target in March, saying teams need to first "fully review data from the test, mitigate each issue, and return to testing." 

Before Tuesday's postponement, the earliest NASA could have launched commander Reid Wiseman and his crew to the moon was no sooner than Sunday.

Launch controllers Monday began loading the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket with super-cold hydrogen and oxygen at midday. More than 700,000 gallons (2.6 million liters) had to flow into the tanks and remain on board for several hours, mimicking the final stages of an actual countdown.

But excessive hydrogen quickly built up near the bottom of the rocket. Hydrogen loading was halted at least twice as the launch team scrambled to work around the problem using techniques developed during the previous Space Launch System countdown in 2022. (AP)