By MARCIA DUNN

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.

Related Articles

A horse’s neigh may be unique in the animal kingdom. Now scientists know how they do it

6 planets will parade across the night sky at the end of February

NASA boss blasts Boeing and space agency managers for Starliner’s botched astronaut flight

NASA conducts second rocket fueling test that will decide when Artemis astronauts head to the moon

Surprise shark caught on camera for first time in Antarctica’s near-freezing deep

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.

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)

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.

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.

Everyone keeps waiting for a monster run out of the Timberwolves to surge up the Western Conference standings and grab a top-three seed. Surely, it’s right around the corner.

Now seemed like a good time for one. Minnesota went into the All-Star break with two consecutive wins and emerged post-break with a win over the banged-up Mavericks. Trade deadline acquisition Ayo Dosunmu had a few days to better acclimate himself to his teammates and surroundings. Anthony Edwards noted he could play more consistent defense the rest of the way.

The stage was set for sustained success. And then came another egg Sunday against the 76ers. The the Wolves were loose defensively and careless on offense, and the result was a blowout loss.

Still waiting.

Edwards was quick to note that Minnesota was without two of its top six players on Sunday, suspended Rudy Gobert and injured Naz Reid. Both players figure to be back in uniform Tuesday night in Portland.

But Philadelphia was also down two starters, Paul George and Joel Embiid. That’s the reality for most teams. Frankly, the Wolves have been one of the healthiest teams in the NBA this season. Many of their wins in 2026 have come against teams severely worse off on the injury report.

Which has made it all the more flummoxing as to why Minnesota hasn’t been able to find its gear and shoot up the standings. Instead, the Timberwolves remains locked in a tight quarrel with the likes of Denver, Houston, Phoenix and the Lakers. All of those teams have been without key players for large chunks of the season.

Austin Reaves has missed 26 games for the Lakers, Luka Doncic has missed 12. Aaron Gordon has missed 35 games for Denver, and counting, while Nikola Jokic has missed 16.

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s top six players have missed 16 games … combined.

That a testament to the Timberwolves’s training staff and their players’ willingness and ability to suit up each night. But such availability has yet to lead to consistently positive results. There’s been no elongated stretch of results to demonstrate the team’s high-end ceiling, only mere blips of a game here or there against the league’s best.

It all raises the question for these Wolves: Is excellence in there?

They currently sport the NBA’s ninth-best defensive rating, 10th-best offensive rating and ninth-best net rating. All good, nothing great.

Keep in mind, the 2022-23 Denver Nuggets were the only NBA champion since 2012 to lift the trophy with a regular season net rating south of +5.5. Minnesota’s is currently +4.1.

And there’s no excuse, no injuries or preseason roster reshuffling to help explain it. It’s simply a team that struggles to string together excellent performances.

The depth doesn’t appear to be there, nor is the consistency — at the collective and individual levels.

Minnesota has reached the Western Conference Finals the past two seasons. That recent history allots the team a certain level of cachet, a belief that things will get better.

There is still nearly a third of the season remaining to figure things out. But it’s possible the truth is staring us all in the face. Maybe this simply isn’t a title contender, which would fly directly in the face of this team’s stated aspirations.

There are two months left to prove otherwise. This three-game road trip is a good place to start.

Related Articles

Timberwolves hammered by visiting 76ers

Rudy Gobert doesn’t think he’s being officiated fairly

Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards finding his happy place(s) in clutch time

Timberwolves return to action with with win over Dallas

Rudy Gobert picks up another flagrant foul, will be suspended for Sunday’s game against 76ers

Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos has been named the Minnesota Orchestra’s principal guest conductor, the first person to hold that position in 40 years.

“As a young music student still forming a musical identity, I was deeply inspired by the Minnesota Orchestra’s recordings with the legendary Dimitri Mitropoulos,” Kavakos said in a news release. “The orchestra produces a sound of rare warmth and flexibility, an element that has impressed me since my debut as a soloist in the 1990s.”

A native of Athens, Kavakos has been a regular soloist since 1995. He first conducted the orchestra in a May 2023 program featuring Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 and Bach’s Violin Concerto No. 1. His most recent appearance, in October, saw him leading Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15.

Beginning in fall 2027, the three-year appointment will feature Kavakos in three weeks of subscription concerts each season, including conducting the orchestra at least twice a season. He’ll also appear in additional concerts and artistic projects as soloist or chamber music collaborator.

Kavakos has performed with and led orchestras around the world, including the New York Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony and Barcelona Symphony. In 2022, he founded the ApollΩn Ensemble, a chamber group of Greek musicians.

Leonard Slatkin held the principal guest conductor role from 1975 to 1979, followed by Klaus Tennstedt from 1979 to 1982 and Charles Dutoit from 1983 to 1986.

“We are very happy to welcome Leonidas Kavakos into this new role,” said music director Thomas Søndergård. “He is an artist of great integrity and creativity who will bring conviction, passion and interesting projects to our orchestra and audiences.”

Related Articles

Here’s what happens at a sensory-friendly live performance

Concert review: Brandi Carlile proclaims her love for Minnesotans at joyous Target Center show

Review: With new director, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres’ ‘Guys and Dolls’ shines

Concert review: Conductor/harpsichordist Richard Egarr rises to the occasion

Brandi Carlile’s sold-out Saturday night concert will air live on 89.3 The Current

City Limits rounds up the latest housing and land use-related events and public hearings, plus affordable housing lotteries that are ending soon.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani at an apartment building in the Bronx last month announcing his planned Rental Ripoff hearings, the first of which kick off Thursday. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Welcome to City Limits’ NYC Housing Calendar, a weekly feature where we round up the latest housing and land use-related events and hearings, as well as affordable housing lotteries that are ending soon.

Know of an event we should include in next week’s calendar? Email us.

Upcoming housing and land use-related events:

Monday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m.: The Department of City Planning will host an online webinar explaining the recent housing-related City Charter revisions passed by city voters in November. More here.

Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 9:30 a.m.: The Landmarks Preservation Commission will meet. More here.

Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m.: Neighbors Helping Neighbors and the Fair Housing Justice Center will present an online workshop about housing discrimination for homebuyers. More here.

Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 9 a.m.: The State Senate’s Housing, Construction and Community Development Committee will meet. More here.

Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m.: The State Senate and State Assembly will hold a public hearing on housing in the governor’s 2026 Executive Budget. More here.

Thursday, Feb, 26 at 10 a.m.: The City Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings will hold an oversight hearing on preserving affordable housing in distressed properties, including through the city’s Third-Party Transfer Program. More here.

Thursday, Feb. 26, 5:30 to 7 p.m. or 7 to 8:30 p.m.: The Mamdani administration will hold its first Rental Ripoff hearings in Downtown Brooklyn for tenants to testify about issues they face as renters. Advanced registration is required and space is limited. More here.

Monday, March 2 at 1 p.m.: The City Planning Commission will hold a public review session. More here.

NYC Affordable Housing Lotteries: The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) will close lotteries on the following subsidized buildings this week.

183-03 Hillside Avenue Apartments, Queens, for households earning between $99,875 – $189,540 (last day to apply is 2/24)

Aura, Queens, for households earning between $104,023 – $189,540 (last day to apply is 2/25)

36 India Street Apartments, Brooklyn, for households earning between $131,898 – $227,500 (last day to apply is 2/25)

Willets Point Commons, for households earning between $20,469 – $301,350 (last day to apply is 2/25)

827 Sterling Place, Brooklyn, for households earning between $96,960 – $189,540 (last day to apply is 2/26)

779 East 181 Street Apartments, Bronx, for households earning between $81,326 – $116,640 (last day to apply is 2/26)

Belle Eden Apartments, Bronx, for households earning between $4,320 – $210,000 (last day to apply is 2/27)

815 Kings Highway Apartments, Brooklyn, for households earning between $143,898 – $227,500 (last day to apply is 3/2)

To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post NYC Housing Calendar, Feb. 23-March 2 appeared first on City Limits.