Canadian Space Agency Archives

January 24, 2026

Artemis II Astronauts Enter Quarantine

The four astronauts assigned to NASA’s first lunar voyage in more than half a century entered medical isolation on Friday as Kennedy Space Center teams push toward a potential early February launch window.

NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, joined by Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, have begun what the agency calls a “health stabilization program”—a precautionary period designed to shield the crew from illness that could scrub their mission. The protocol typically spans 14 days before liftoff, though NASA has yet to announce an official launch date while rocket and spacecraft testing continues.

Preparations Continue At KSC

At Kennedy Space Center, preparations are accelerating around the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft at Launch Pad 39B. Ground crews have wrapped up checkouts of mechanical power systems, cryogenic propellant lines, and the rocket’s RS-25 engines.

Beginning Saturday, January 24th, the perimeter around LC-39B will be cleared of non-essential personnel as technicians begin servicing the twin solid rocket boosters as part of the final preparations for SLS and its first crewed flight.

Astros To Come To KSC Late Next Week If All Continues Going Well.

The astronauts are currently quarantining in Houston but will relocate to Kennedy Space Center approximately six days before launch if testing milestones continue on schedule. Upon arrival, they’ll take up residence in the astronaut crew quarters housed within the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building—the same facility that has hosted crews since the Space Shuttle era.

During isolation, the crew will complete mission simulations and medical evaluations while maintaining limited contact with pre-screened family members and colleagues in order to prevent exposure to any illnesses that might prevent them from launching.

Artemis II Milestones – Talk of Titusville

Artemis II Pre-Launch Milestones

Launch window opens Feb. 6, 2026

Milestone	Target Date	Status	Details
Launch Pad Integration	Late Jan. 2026	In Progress	Connect GSE, electrical lines, fuel ducts, and cryo feeds; power up integrated systems
Crew Final Walkdown	Late Jan. 2026	Upcoming	Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen conduct final pad inspection
Wet Dress Rehearsal	NET Feb. 2, 2026	Upcoming	Load 700,000+ gallons of cryogenic propellants; full countdown practice; detanking ops
Flight Readiness Review	Early Feb. 2026	Upcoming	Mission management assesses all systems and commits to official launch date
Launch	NET Feb. 6, 2026	Launch Window	16 launch opportunities through April 30, 2026; first window 9:41 PM EST (02:41 UTC)

As of Jan. 24, 2026, 12:00 PM EST

Artemis II Begins Its Trek To The Launch Pad

SLS began its slow and deliberate journey to Launch Pad 39B from the Vehical Assembly Building (VAB) early Saturday morning at Kennedy Space Center, marking a major milestone in the agency’s quest to return astronauts to the Moon for the first time in more than half a century.

The 322-foot-tall rocket emerged from the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building at 7:04 a.m. EST, carried atop Crawler-Transporter 2 for the four-mile trek to the historic launch complex. The combined stack — rocket, Orion capsule, and mobile launcher — weighs approximately 11 million pounds and is traveling at a top speed of just under one mile per hour, with the journey expected to take between eight and twelve hours. At the time of this writing, that journey is still underway and should conclude late this afternoon or early this evening.

Hundreds of space center workers, family members, and guests gathered along the crawlerway to witness the spectacle as the towering white rocket inched past against a clear Florida sky. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and the four Artemis II astronauts were on hand to mark the occasion.

“Wow. LETS GO!!!” Commander Reid Wiseman posted on X alongside a photo of the rocket moving out of the VAB. In a subsequent post, he called the SLS and Orion “engineering art.”

Wow. LETS GO!!! pic.twitter.com/xozFfnJI8c
— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) January 17, 2026

Once the rocket reaches Launch Pad 39B, teams will immediately begin connecting ground support equipment, including electrical lines, environmental control system ducts, and cryogenic propellant feeds. Engineers will then power up the integrated systems for the first time to verify everything functions properly with the mobile launcher and pad infrastructure.

A wet dress rehearsal is scheduled for late January or early February. During this critical test, ground crews will load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into the rocket’s tanks and conduct multiple countdown sequences, including several holds and recycles in the final minutes to validate launch procedures.

Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said a February launch remains possible but emphasized that the timeline depends on the outcome of upcoming testing. “We need to get through wet dress,” she said during a pre-rollout briefing yesterday.

NASA’s launch window opens February 6, with additional opportunities on February 7, 8, 10, and 11. Due to the orbital mechanics governing the mission’s trajectory to the Moon, only about one week of launch opportunities exists each month, followed by roughly three weeks without viable windows.

Artemis II Set For Saturday Rollout

NASA’s moon rocket is finally hitting the road.

The agency announced that the fully stacked Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft will begin their four-mile trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B no earlier than Saturday, January 17, with first motion expected around 7 a.m. ET. The journey aboard Crawler-Transporter 2 will take up to 12 hours.

Artemis II Rollout Details

Artemis II Rollout: VAB to LC-39B
Distance	Approximately 4 miles (6.4 km)
Speed	0.82–1 mph (1.3–1.6 km/h) loaded
Total Time	10–12 hours, depending on conditions and stops
Method	Crawler-Transporter 2 (CT-2), a 6.6-million-pound vehicle
Purpose	Transport the fully assembled rocket from the VAB to Launch Pad 39B for wet dress rehearsal and final launch preparations

Teams have been working around the clock to close out remaining tasks ahead of rollout, though the date could shift if additional time is needed for technical preparations or weather.

The rollout marks the beginning of final integration and testing for what will be the first crewed mission beyond Earth orbit in more than 50 years. Once at the pad, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will conduct a final walkdown before launch preparations continue.

A wet dress rehearsal is planned for late January, during which teams will load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants and run through countdown procedures. The earliest launch window opens February 6, with additional opportunities on February 7, 8, 10, and 11.