NASA hopes fuel leaks are fixed as it launches another countdown test for the Artemis II moonshot

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA began another practice launch countdown Tuesday for its first moonshot in decades with astronauts after making repairs to fix dangerous fuel leaks that already have bumped the flight into March.

The first fueling test was halted two weeks ago by the same kind of liquid hydrogen leaks that disrupted the Artemis program’s first flight without anyone aboard three years ago.

Launch teams replaced a pair of seals and a clogged filter at the Kennedy Space Center pad where the giant moon rocket stands before starting the countdown clocks back up. The two-day test will culminate Thursday with the attempted fill-up of the rocket’s fuel tanks. The four Artemis II astronauts will monitor the crucial dress rehearsal from afar.

A successful, leak-free test is needed before NASA will set a launch date. The earliest the Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket could blast off is March 6. Officials had considered moving it up by three days, but said the extra time was needed to analyze the fueling test results.

The last time astronauts blasted off for the moon was in 1972 during NASA’s Apollo program.

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