PARIS (AP) — Struggling Ligue 1 club Paris FC quickly hired Antoine Kombouaré as its new coach after firing Stéphane Gilli earlier Sunday.
Paris FC announced Kombouaré's arrival in a statement, without saying how long he has signed for. The 62-year-old Kombouaré previously had spells in charge of Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Nantes.
Gilli had been in charge of Paris FC since 2023 and helped it win promotion last season. His other high point was knocking PSG out of the French Cup in January.
“The club would like to warmly thank Stéphane Gilli for his commitment, professionalism and all the work he accomplished during his time,” Paris FC posted on X.
Paris FC was taken over late last year by France’s richest family, the Arnaults of luxury empire LVMH, but the club is languishing in 15th place in Ligue 1 with 11 rounds left.
Four years ago, Kombouaré saved Nantes from relegation and won the French Cup in the same season.
“We are delighted to welcome Antoine Kombouaré to the club," Paris FC owner Antoine Arnault said. "His background and solid experience in Ligue 1 will be invaluable assets.”
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FILE - Nantes' head coach Antoine Kombouare directs his players during the Europa League play-off second leg soccer match between Nantes and Juventus FC on Feb. 23, 2023 in Nantes, western France. (AP Photo/Mathieu Pattier, File)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Grounded until at least April, NASA’s giant moon rocket is headed back to the hangar this week for more repairs before astronauts climb aboard.
The space agency said Sunday it’s targeting Tuesday for the slow, four-mile (6.4-kilometer) trek across Kennedy Space Center, weather permitting.
NASA had barely finished a repeat fueling test Thursday, to ensure dangerous hydrogen fuel leaks were plugged, when another problem cropped up.
This time, the rocket’s helium system malfunctioned, further delaying astronauts’ first trip to the moon in more than half a century.
Engineers had just tamed the hydrogen leaks and settled on a March 6 launch date — already a month late — when the helium issue arose. The helium flow to the rocket's upper stage was disrupted; helium is needed to purge the engines and pressurize the fuel tanks.
“Returning to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy is required to determine the cause of the issue and fix it," NASA said in a statement.
NASA said the quick rollback preps preserve an April launch attempt, but stressed that will depend on how the repairs go. The space agency has only a handful of days any given month to launch the crew of four around the moon and back.
The three Americans and one Canadian assigned to the Artemis II mission remain on standby in Houston. They will become the first people to fly to the moon since NASA's Apollo program that sent 24 astronauts there from 1968 through 1972.
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This image provided by NASA shows NASA's moon rocket sits on the pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (NASA via AP)
