NASA resolves rocket safety system issue ahead of Artemis II launch

An issue with a key rocket safety system that could have forced a no-go for the Artemis II launch has been resolved, according to NASA.

NASA said teams had identified a problem involving hardware that communicates with the flight termination system, which allows engineers on the ground to send a destruct signal if the rocket veers off course during ascent. Without confirmation that the system would work if needed, the launch could not have gone forward.

Engineers resolved the issue and completed a confidence test on the hardware, NASA said. The agency did not indicate any change to the launch schedule.

NASA is set to launch Artemis II from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a two-hour window opening at 6:24 p.m. EDT. Backup launch opportunities extend through April 6.

Technicians also completed closure of the launch abort system hatch, one of the final major milestones before liftoff.

“With the hatch secured, Orion enters its final configuration for liftoff, marking one of the last major milestones before fueling and launch,” NASA said.

The mission will send four astronauts aboard Orion on a roughly 10-day lunar flyby, making it NASA’s first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo and the first human trip around the moon in more than 50 years.

The flight is expected to test whether the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft can perform as intended with astronauts on board, including deep-space life support, communications and crew operations.