---
title: "NASA’s Super Expensive Mega Moon Rocket Starts Leaking During Test"
description: "During a crucial Artemis 1 take-off test, the NASA's seemingly doomed Space Launch System sprung a leak in a hydrogen fuel valve."
date: "2022-06-22"
modified: "2022-06-22"
authors:
  - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-mega-moon-rocket-leak-test"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Moon"
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "artemis"
  - "rocket"
  - "sls"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA’s Super Expensive Mega Moon Rocket Starts Leaking During Test

![During a crucial Artemis 1 take-off test, the NASA's seemingly doomed Space Launch System sprung a leak in a hydrogen fuel valve.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/nasa-alarmed-moon-rocket-leaking-test.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Launch Leak

During a [crucial test](<https://www.space.com/artemis-1-moon-rocket-wet-dress-rehearsal-success>) over the weekend, NASA's [long delayed](<https://futurism.com/nasas-sls-broken-again>), [ultra-expensive](<https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/01/nasa-auditor-warns-congress-artemis-missions-sls-rocket-billions-over-budget.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWe%20found%20that%20the%20first,name%20of%20NASA's%20lunar%20program.>) [Space Launch System (SLS)](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-megarocket-moon>) sprang a leak in a hydrogen fuel valve. This was the fourth try at what NASA calls a "wet dress" rehearsal [for the Artemis 1 mission](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-rolling-out-moon-rocket>), of which the previous three attempts were considered failures [due to other fueling issues](<https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/20/world/nasa-artemis-monday-test-attempt-scn/index.html>).

Despite this most recent fuel fiasco — which caused Artemis personnel to cut the simulated launch short by about 20 seconds — this latest test was marked as a success.

But while most major test goals were met, [others weren't](<https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/21/23175681/nasa-space-launch-system-wet-dress-rehearsal-test-29-seconds>), again leaving serious questions about SLS' viability and the [Artemis 1 mission's timeline](<https://futurism.com/scathing-report-nasa-behind-moon-landing>).

"I would say that the majority of our objectives were met," said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, NASA's Artemis launch director, during a post-test press conference. "There were maybe small pieces within that one primary objective that we came up a little short on."

## Behind Schedule

The wet dress rehearsal is one of the final tests needed to clear a rocket for its maiden voyage, and NASA seems eager to get the colossal SLS spacecraft — originally slated to launch back in February 2022 — into the Moon's orbit.

After, NASA is still playing things pretty close to the vest with regards to the current [Artemis 1 timetable](<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/artemis-i-mission-availability>).

"I don’t think we know yet," said Tom Whitmeyer, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for common exploration systems, when asked about the Artemis schedule during the same post-simulation briefing.

This seems to be the theme of the upcoming Artemis Moon missions, which recently leaked NASA documents [suggest might be in general chaos](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/leaked-documents-nasa-moon-landing-plans-chaos>) overall.

Regardless, the Artemis 1 launch team appears to remain in good spirits.

"It's a great day for our team," said Blackwell-Thompson, during NASA's live wet dress webcast. "Definitely a good day for us and a very exciting day as well."

**READ MORE:** [*NASA's Artemis 1 moon rocket passes crucial fueling test despite leak*](<https://www.space.com/artemis-1-moon-rocket-wet-dress-rehearsal-success>)

**More on SLS woes:** [*NASA's Absurdly Expensive SLS Megarocket Is Broken Again*](<https://futurism.com/nasas-sls-broken-again>)

## Author
At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride."

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/mharrisondupre.bsky.social>)