Artemis II Delayed: The Hydrogen Leak Headache & The Path to March
NASA’s historic return to the Moon has hit a familiar snag. On February 3, 2026, following a critical "wet dress rehearsal" (WDR), NASA officially postponed the Artemis II launch from February to at least March 6, 2026. Despite successfully filling the Space Launch System (SLS) tanks with 700,000 gallons of propellant, a persistent hydrogen leak at the T-5 minute mark forced an early termination of the test.
In this episode, we break down the technical challenges facing the crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen—who have now exited medical quarantine in Houston. We explore why these "bespoke" components continue to leak after three years of lessons from Artemis I and whether the repairs can truly be finished right on the launch pad. Plus, we discuss the ongoing debate over the Orion capsule’s heat shield safety.
NASA, Artemis II, Moon Mission, SLS Rocket, Hydrogen Leak, Space Exploration, Reid Wiseman, Jeremy Hansen, Orion Capsule, Wet Dress Rehearsal.
This episode includes AI-generated content.
