This morning, NASA officially announced a no earlier than March 6th target launch date for Artemis II. That date is contingent on completion of some work at the launch pad, and a positive result from the upcoming Launch Readiness Review, which is scheduled for late next week.
NASA is moving ahead with a second wet dress rehearsal, or WDR-2, for the Artemis II mission. Launch controllers will take their positions in the Launch Control Center at 6:40 PM ET tonight (Feb. 17), kicking off a nearly 50-hour countdown sequence. The simulated launch window opens at 8:30 PM on February 19th and extends four hours.
Teams at Kennedy Space Center conducted and mostly completed a critical Wet Dress Rehearsal for the launch of the Artemis II rocket and ground support teams yesterday. The test was not without problems: Hydrogen leaks at the tail mast area of the pad and an issue closing Orion’s hatches bedeviled the tests, resulting in NASA announcing that the launch of the Artemis II mission is now no earlier than March 6, 2026.
“The Artemis II wet dress rehearsal countdown was terminated at the T-5:15 minute mark due to a liquid hydrogen leak at the interface of the tail service mast umbilical, which had experienced high concentrations of liquid hydrogen earlier in the countdown, as well,” NASA said.
In a press conference today, Artemis II Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said, “When we got into the LH2 fast fill—which was around 12:29—is when we picked up our first leak in the SMU, in the cavity, which is where the flight and the ground plate come together. It’s that cavity in between. It’s in our eight-inch fill and drain line there. We have a QD that connects those two together.”
“It was similar to some of the signatures we saw during Artemis I. Our leak rate was a little bit higher—somewhere around 12 to 14%,” Blackwell-Thompson continued. “We tried a contingency procedure that we used during Artemis I: you let that QD warm up, you let the seal warm up, and you try it again. We did that a couple of times, worked our way through it, and were able to load the core stage all the way to replenish.”
When asked what items were missed in the Wet Dress Rehearsal, Blackwell-Thompson said, “What we didn’t get to do: we wanted to get through terminal count. We wanted to get inside terminal count, hold, and verify our three-minute hold capability—tanks in launch-ready state and you can hold them for up to three minutes.”
“We also wanted to demonstrate a recycle: come down, have a planned cutoff, come back and retarget a new T-0 within the launch window. Didn’t get a chance to do that.”
Before the March window, NASA’s engineers and mission managers will review data, equipment and procedures from the WDR yesterday and they will conduct a second Wet Dress Rehearsal before committing to a launch date. Of key interest are the Tail Mast interfaces that deliver LH2 to the rocket’s propellant tanks.
“With the conclusion of the wet dress rehearsal today, we are moving off the February launch window and targeting March for the earliest possible launch of Artemis II,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said today. “With more than three years between SLS launches, we fully anticipated encountering challenges. That is precisely why we conduct a wet dress rehearsal. These tests are designed to surface issues before flight and set up launch day with the highest probability of success.”
(Subject to Adjustments)
| Launch Window Opening | Window | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Local Time | UTC | Lighting | Mins |
| Mar 6 | 8:29 PM EST | Mar 7, 01:29 | 2.05 hrs after sunset | 120 |
| Mar 7 | 8:57 PM EST | Mar 8, 01:57 | 2.51 hrs after sunset | 120 |
| Mar 8 | 10:56 PM EDT | Mar 9, 02:56 | 3.48 hrs after sunset | 120 |
| Mar 9 | 11:52 PM EDT | Mar 10, 03:52 | 4.40 hrs after sunset | 120 |
| Mar 10 | 12:48 AM EDT | Mar 10, 04:48 | 5.36 hrs after sunset | 115 |
| Apr 1 | 6:24 PM EDT | Apr 1, 22:24 | 1.28 hrs before sunset | 120 |
| Apr 3 | 8:00 PM EDT | Apr 4, 00:00 | 0.30 hrs after sunset | 120 |
| Apr 4 | 8:53 PM EDT | Apr 5, 00:53 | 1.17 hrs after sunset | 120 |
| Apr 5 | 9:40 PM EDT | Apr 6, 01:40 | 1.95 hrs after sunset | 120 |
| Apr 6 | 10:36 PM EDT | Apr 7, 02:36 | 2.87 hrs after sunset | 120 |
| Apr 30 | 6:06 PM EDT | Apr 30, 22:06 | 1.86 hrs before sunset | 120 |
↔ Scroll table on mobile
As of: February 3, 2026 at 8:32 AM EST
A liquid hydrogen leak at the LC-39B’s Tail Mast umbilical connection to SLS’s core stage forced engineers into a troubleshooting effort that pushed the countdown about two hours behind schedule. The team cycled through several repair attempts, first halting LH2 flow, then letting the interface warm so seals could seat themselves properly, and finally by tweaking propellant flow rates before pressing ahead. Ultimately, they were successful in their efforts and got the 322-foot tall rocket fully fueled, but a great deal of time was lost during the effort.
Secondly, a recently replaced valve tied to Orion’s crew hatch pressurization system needed to be retorqued, and closeout work ran longer than expected. NASA stated around 10 PM last night that, “The closeout crew remains in the White Room and has closed the Orion spacecraft’s crew module hatch. While performing seal pressurization checks on the counterbalance assembly, which could be used to help open the hatch, a valve associated with Orion’s hatch pressurization was inadvertently vented. The counterbalance assembly then needed to be repressurized to allow work to continue.”
Finally, communications issues from SLS to ground caused some issues and will need to be remediated prior to the next Wet Dress Rehearsal, much less any launch attempt in March.
Clearly, there’s some work to do before Artemis II will be ready to fly.
The Artemis II crew has been released from quarantine for the time being. Once a new potential launch date becomes clearer, they will return to quarantine and fly to Kennedy Space Center for final preparations prior to launch.
NASA has scheduled a 1 PM ET press conference to offer more details.
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.
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.
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.
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
The Artemis II rollout is scheduled to begin no earlier than 7 AM ET NASA tomorrow (Saturday, January 17). The four-mile journey from the VAB to Launch Pad 39B should take between 8-12 hours at about one mile per hour, so you’ll have a long window to get a glimpse of the proceedings as they happen.
Playalinda Beach will be ideal since it’s the closest public land to both the VAB and Pad 39B (as close as 3.6 miles to 39B from the parking lots). Lot 1 (the southermost) gives you the best angle toward the crawlerway route.
While the National Park Service has not announced any specific closures related to the rollout, it would be a good idea to call ahead to confirm that Playalinda is open and has not reached capacity. That’s when all the parking lots are full, and if it reaches that level of attendance, new entrants are denied. Also, keep in mind that an entrance fee is required. The best way to pay for that is to visit the NPS website here.
The Titusville waterfront on the Indian River is another great place to see Artemis II emerging and then heading towards LC-39B. The parks are free, there’s plenty of parking, with food and other options nearby.
Space View Park – Free, always open, and directly across the water with views of both the VAB and 39B
Max Brewer Bridge itself offers an elevated perspective if you can access it on foot (often closed to traffic for launches, but rollouts may be different).
Rotary Riverfront Park – a favorite for launch viewers, this easy-in, easy-out location off of US-1 will be a great spot to see Artemis II.
William J. Manzo Memorial Park one of Titusville’s lesser known parks, this location has a great view across the river to the VAB and LC-39B.
KSC Visitor Complex – They don’t appear to be offering special rollout viewing packages, and the VAB obstructs direct sightlines from many spots there anyway, so later in the day may be the best time to try to view Artemis II.
The Saturn V Center is the closest public facility within the complex grounds, but it is unclear if tour buses will be affected by the rocket move. Assuming everything works out and the public can get to the SVC, it will be a nice day after a cool start, so that may be the best option. Enquire at KSCVC for more information — things change fast around Kennedy Space Center and we do not want to mislead anyone by posting old or incorrect info.
Since the rollout is a slow, multi-hour event rather than a blink-and-miss-it launch, you’ve got flexibility. About an hour after rollout begins, the rocket is expected to emerge from the VAB, offering the public its first full look at the United State’s first crewed moon rocket in over fifty years. Arriving around 8 a.m. should let you see it emerge and begin the trek to the launch pad. If you arrive at 10am, that’s fine, the rocket will have traveled only part of the way.
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