Space News: Rocket Problems and New Tests

SpaceX is looking into a problem with the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket. The problem happened during a launch on Monday. The rocket did put its Starlink satellites into space. But the upper stage did not fire its engine one last time as planned. This issue has stopped SpaceX's launch plans for now. A Starlink launch from Florida planned for this week is on hold. SpaceX's team in Florida is now getting ready for the Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station. That mission is planned for no earlier than February 11. The Crew-12 schedule depends on how fast SpaceX can finish its investigation.

The big news in rocketry this week is that NASA still has a problem with hydrogen leaks on its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Hydrogen is a type of rocket fuel. The same problem caused long delays before the first SLS launch in 2022. The fuel leaks showed up again on Monday during a test. NASA will do another fueling test in the coming weeks. But the launch of the Artemis II mission is now delayed until at least March. NASA does not have extra rocket parts to build a test model. A test model could have helped them find and fix the leaks.

Blue Origin has "paused" its New Shepard program for the next two years. This likely means the end of its space tourism trips. The small New Shepard rocket and capsule have been flying since April 2015. The program flew 98 people to space, but only for very short trips. The company's leader wrote that they will move resources to work faster on their Moon plans. This includes work on their bigger New Glenn rocket. The stop to the New Shepard program was a surprise to Blue Origin workers.