NASA targets a March launch of the moon rocket after test run reveals fuel leaks

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA said Tuesday it will now target a March launch of its new moon rocket after running into exasperating fuel leaks during a make-or-break test a day earlier.

The space agency said in a statement that the launch delay will “allow teams to review data and conduct a second wet dress rehearsal” before the flight test.

The leaks — reminiscent of the rocket's delayed debut three years ago — sprang just a couple hours into the daylong fueling operation Monday at Kennedy Space Center and called into question how soon astronauts could take off.

NASA said the four astronauts tasked for the flight will be moved out of their nearly two-week quarantine. NASA added they will enter quarantine again “about two weeks” before the next launch window for the trip around the moon.

The agency gave no indication of an official launch target in March, saying teams need to first “fully review data from the test, mitigate each issue, and return to testing.” Before Tuesday’s postponement, the earliest NASA could have launched commander Reid Wiseman and his crew to the moon was no sooner than Sunday.

Launch controllers Monday began loading the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket with super-cold hydrogen and oxygen at midday. More than 700,000 gallons (2.6 million liters) had to flow into the tanks and remain on board for several hours, mimicking the final stages of an actual countdown.

But excessive hydrogen quickly built up near the bottom of the rocket. Hydrogen loading was halted at least twice as the launch team scrambled to work around the problem using techniques developed during the previous Space Launch System countdown in 2022. That first test flight was plagued by hydrogen leaks before finally soaring without a crew.

NASA also noted in its statement that delays were incurred in close-out operations during the test as well as recurring audio dropout issues for ground crew communications.

The four astronauts assigned to the mission — three Americans and one Canadian — monitored the critical dress rehearsal from nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away in Houston, home to the Johnson Space Center.

The space agency only has a few days in any given month to launch the rocket, and the extreme cold already had shortened February’s launch window by two days.

Running behind because of the bitter cold snap, the countdown clocks began ticking Saturday night, giving launch controllers the chance to go through all the motions and deal with any lingering rocket problems. The clocks were set to stop a half-minute before reaching zero, just before engine ignition.

The nearly 10-day mission will send the astronauts past the moon, around the mysterious far side and then straight back to Earth, with the goal of testing the capsule's life support and other vital systems. The crew will not go into lunar orbit or attempt to land.

NASA last sent astronauts to the moon during the 1960s and 1970s Apollo program. The new Artemis program aims for a more sustained lunar presence, with Wiseman’s crew setting the stage for future moon landings by other astronauts.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

A full moon is seen shining over NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher in the early hours of Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Sam Lott/NASA via AP)

The NASA Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft is seen at Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

The NASA Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft is seen at Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

A full moon is seen shining over NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher in the early hours of Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Sam Lott/NASA via AP)

OSLO, Norway (AP) — The son of Norway’s crown princess pleaded not guilty to rape charges as he went on trial Tuesday for multiple alleged offenses, opening weeks of proceedings in a case that has cast a shadow on the royal family’s image.

Marius Borg Høiby, 29, is the eldest son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship and the stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon. Høiby has no royal title or official duties.

Høiby stood for 24 minutes while prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø read out the 38 counts against him at the Oslo district court, asking him if he pleaded guilty. He replied “no” to each of the most serious charges, including the four counts of rape.

The charges also include abuse in a close relationship against one former partner, acts of violence against another and transporting 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds) of marijuana. Others include making death threats and traffic violations.

Høiby pleaded guilty to several driving offenses, to an aggravated drugs offense and breaking a restraining order, and “partly” to threats and aggravated assault. Wearing glasses, a brown sweater and beige trousers, he spoke quietly and conferred regularly with his lawyer. A court official moved the microphone to better pick up his answers.

Prosecutors have said that Høiby could face up to 10 years in prison, if convicted in the trial, which is scheduled to last until March 19. Seven alleged victims are expected to testify.

Reflecting international interest in the trial, Judge Jon Sverdrup Efjestad addressed the court in English, warning that it was prohibited to record or take photographs in the courtroom and advising that some witness testimony would be heard behind closed doors.

The investigation began in 2024. Police were first called to an apartment in Oslo's upscale Frogner neighborhood in early August that year following reports of a violent incident. Høiby was arrested and later released, but the case expanded as additional women came forward with allegations against him.

The indictment that prosecutors filed last year centers on four alleged rapes between 2018 and November 2024; alleged violence and threats against a former partner between the summer of 2022 and the fall of 2023; and two alleged acts of violence against a subsequent partner, along with violations of a restraining order.

It was expanded in January, when Høiby was charged with six new offenses, including possession and delivery of large quantities of marijuana and further restraining order violations.

He was free pending trial until Sunday, when police said that he was arrested over new allegations of assault, threats with a knife and violation of a restraining order.

The Oslo court on Monday granted their request to keep him in detention for up to four weeks on the grounds of a risk of reoffending. Defense lawyer Petar Sekulic said that the arrest followed an alleged “incident” involving another person on Sunday.

He declined to give details, but said that Høiby contests his detention and his legal team was considering an appeal as soon as he and the other person can provide statements to police.

Haakon said last week that he and Mette-Marit don't plan to attend the trial and that the royal house doesn't intend to comment during the proceedings.

King Harald, 88, and the royals are generally popular in Norway, but the Høiby case has been a problem for the family's image.

The trial opened at a particularly sensitive moment for the royal family. Mette-Marit faces renewed scrutiny over her past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in a New York jail cell as he faced sex trafficking charges, following the release on Friday of a new batch of documents from the Epstein files.

They contained several hundred mentions of the crown princess, who already said in 2019 that she regretted having had contact with Epstein, Norwegian media reported. The documents, which include email exchanges, showed that Mette-Marit borrowed an Epstein-owned property in Palm Beach, Florida, for several days in 2013. Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported that the stay was arranged through a mutual friend, which was later confirmed by the royal household.

Mette-Marit said in a statement that she “must take responsibility for not having investigated Epstein’s background more thoroughly, and for not realizing sooner what kind of person he was.” She added: “I showed poor judgment and regret having had any contact with Epstein at all. It is simply embarrassing.”

Mark Lewis reported from Stavanger. Geir Moulson contributed to this report from Berlin.

Members of the media gather ahead of the first day of the trial against Marius Borg Høiby in Oslo, Norway Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)

FILE - Norway's Marius Borg Hoiby and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in Oslo, June 16, 2022. (Lise Aserud/NTB via AP, File)