NASA's moon rocket is headed back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs after a helium system malfunction. The issue delays the Artemis II mission, which aims to send four astronauts around the moon for the first time since the Apollo era.

NASA’s Stennis Space Center has quietly cleared a major hurdle for Artemis IV by finishing activation of a new high-pressure water system that will shield hardware from the force of full-scale rocket tests.

Fast forward to the present day. The Space Launch System has flown only once, during the Artemis I mission, and is preparing to fly again with Artemis II. According to the NASA Office of Inspector General, the Space Launch System costs $4 billion per flight, not to speak of the immense amount of money to develop the rocket.