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February 4, 2026, 2:54 PM EST. NASA's Space Launch System remains costly and slow after 15 years in development. Officials say the program's price tag has risen past $30 billion, and it has struggled with a painful launch cadence. The series of hydrogen-leak fueling tests, scrubs, and delays culminated with an actual flight on November 16, 2022, after seven attempts. Since then, the rocket's ground and propulsion systems have drawn scrutiny as critics question whether the agency can sustain future missions on a reasonable timeline. The narrative contrasts the ambition of deploying the world's largest rocket with a history of repeated fueling anomalies and protracted ground operations, underscoring a broader challenge for NASA: balancing big-budget modernization with reliable, timely launches.