Many Questions, Few Answers as Artemis II Targets April

NASA is on track to launch Artemis II as soon as April 1st, with daily launch opportunities through April 6th. In a press event on March 12th, NASA leadership announced that Artemis II had passed its Flight Readiness Review, and the rocket is planned to roll out to the pad on March 19th. However, they offered little clarity about recent changes to the Artemis program. A contract listing, rather than an agency announcement, revealed NASA’s intent to use Centaur V as the new upper stage for SLS, in a time where answers have been slow to materialize.

Dr. Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator of ESDMD, shared that NASA had added April 2nd to the list of launch opportunities. However, she deflected questions about launch dates after April 6th, asserting that NASA is “focused on April” for now. After the 6th, the next launch period would begin on April 30th and extend into early May. NASA has been aggressively pushing to launch Artemis II “no later than” April of 2026 since December of 2024, unusually committing to a hard deadline. Dr. Glaze’s comments suggest NASA leadership intends to uphold this narrative for as long as possible.

Artemis II was forced to roll back last month by a helium flow issue in its upper stage. Shawn Quinn, manager of Exploration Ground Systems, explained that NASA inspected the quick disconnect that delivers helium to the upper stage, and discovered that a seal had been forced out of place, blocking the line. After removing the suspect seal and reinforcing other seals in the system, teams successfully tested the fixed connection for use in future launch attempts.

While in the VAB, teams charged batteries on Orion and SLS and practiced closing out Orion. Although crews also replaced oxygen seals in the tail service mast quick disconnect, Dr. Glaze noted that NASA does not plan to conduct further tanking tests of SLS on the pad. After hydrogen leaks thwarted the rocket’s first launch rehearsal, there was speculation that rollout may have affected the seals on the hydrogen-side connections. Those seals were replaced, enabling a successful second rehearsal, but they will not be tested again until launch day.

Many Questions Remain

In the wake of major changes to the Artemis program architecture, including the SLS rocket, little information has been provided about the shape of things to come.

On February 27th, NASA announced its intent to replace the Exploration Upper Stage with a different stage to maintain a “near-Block 1” configuration. A posting on SAM.gov, a United States government record-keeping site, shows that NASA plans to procure three Centaur V stages from United Launch Alliance in a non-competitive award. All cost information is redacted from the document, and it requests an aggressive schedule: the first flight article, for Artemis IV, would need to be ready about seven months after the award date, or about 14 months from the time of writing. The award would only provide stages for Artemis IV and V, plus a flight spare, leaving future work to determine whether SLS will continue flying with Centaur V in the future.

In congress, there has been little resistance to administrator Isaacman’s proposed changes. The Senate’s draft of a 2026 NASA Authorization Act tacitly approves of the new plans, so long as the Senate is kept informed. Space Scout obtained the following comment from Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49):

“We must always put the safety of our astronauts first. I welcome NASA taking the necessary steps to ensure that remains the case. The Artemis campaign is important — it will ensure the United States maintains its rightful place at the forefront of space exploration. I look forward to reviewing further information as NASA shares it with Congress. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I will ensure NASA receives the funding it needs to push the boundaries of space exploration, while never losing sight of our astronauts’ safety.”

Questions also remain about the future of Gateway, the space station NASA and its partners are currently manufacturing to send to the Moon. Gateway was meant to be launched in pieces by the Block 1B variant of SLS, which uses the now-shelved Exploration Upper Stage. During last week’s press event, Dr. Glaze told reporters that “there is nothing in [the new plans] that says anything about” Gateway, adding “we continue to execute on the other parts of our program.” However, the new SLS configuration would not have the cargo space or performance required to fly and assemble Gateway as originally intended, so this comment provides little clarity.

As Artemis II approaches its next launch attempt, NASA communications may choose to share more about Mr. Isaacman’s vision for the future of Artemis. Still, given the agency’s mixed messaging so far, these plans are likely far from finalized, and it may take time before NASA’s own leadership fully understands the path ahead.