lunar mission

playalinda beach
Playalinda. Photo: Charles Boyer

Canaveral National Seashore will implement temporary schedule changes at Playalinda Beach to support NASA’s upcoming Artemis II mission, the National Park Service announced on January 9th.

Beginning Sunday, January 12th, the Playalinda District will operate on reduced hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., two hours shorter than the normal 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. schedule. The modified hours will remain in effect through January 31st.

Playalinda Beach Closures – Artemis II

Playalinda Beach Schedule Changes

Canaveral National Seashore – Artemis II Launch Support

Dates Hours Status
January 12 – January 30, 2026 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Reduced Hours
January 31 – February 6, 2026* — Closed
Day after successful launch 6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Normal Hours Resume
*Closure continues until day of successful Artemis II launch

For more information:
www.nps.gov/cana/planyourvisit/hours.htm
Phone: (321) 267-1110

Starting January 31st, the entire Playalinda Beach District will close completely and remain closed through February 6th—or until the day of a successful Artemis II launch. The closure encompasses the period when NASA’s first launch window opens for the historic crewed lunar mission.

Normal operating hours will resume the day following a successful launch.

Visitors planning trips to the seashore during this period should check the National Park Service website or contact the park directly for the latest access information.

Day OR Night Launch, Most Of MINWR Won’t Be Open For Spectators For Liftoff

The redundantly named Playalinda Beach (playa – beach, linda – beautiful in Spanish) offers some of the closest public viewing locations for launches from Kennedy Space Center and the north end of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but that will definitely not the case for Artemis II’s launch.

A launch at Playalinda Beach
A Falcon 9 lifts off from LC-39A at Kennedy Space. Photo: Charles Boyer

Not only will Playalinda be closed, but if Artemis I in 2022 serves as any guide, much of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge will be in the official security zone and the public will have no access, with KSC Police turning away unauthorized cars at the entrance to the Refuge (near the end of the Max Brewer Bridge on Beach Road.) On the north side, on FL-3, the Haulover Bridge was as far south as people were allowed.

launch hazard zone for Artemis i
The 2022 Artemis I Launch Hazard Area
Source: US Space Force
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Artemis II Rollout
Artemis II in the Vehicle Assembly Building. Photo: NASA

NASA has published its launch window availability for Artemis II, the agency’s first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years, with opportunities spanning February through April 2026. The Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft are scheduled to roll out from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B NET January 17th.

The four-mile journey aboard Crawler-Transporter 2 will take up to 12 hours before the integrated launch structure and rocket arrive at their final destination.

After Artemis II is rolled out to LC39B, engineers and technicians will start pad integration tasks, including connecting essential ground support equipment such as electrical lines, environmental control system ducts, and cryogenic propellant feeds. After those tasks are successfully completed, teams will then power up all integrated systems for the first time at the pad.

All windows are 120 minutes, except for March 11th, which offers a slightly shorter 115-minute window.

Lighting Constraints Drive Window Selection

The published windows reflect careful consideration of lighting conditions, so that Orion is not in darkness for more than 90 minutes at a time post-launch, therefore allowing its solar arrays to keep generating power and the spacecraft to stay within its thermal limits. Dates that would put Orion into extended eclipses are removed from consideration.

Another consideration is that the launch window constraints ensure optimal conditions for tracking cameras and abort scenarios during the critical ascent phase.

NASA notes all dates remain subject to adjustments as the mission progresses through final preparations.

First Launch Opportunities Open February 6

The earliest available launch window opens on February 6, 2026, at 9:41 pm ET, with a 2-hour window. Launch opportunities continue through February 11th, followed by a brief gap, then resume mid-month. Each window in the February series shifts progressively later into the night, with the final February opportunity on the 11th occurring at 1:05 AM EST.

Should weather or technical issues prevent a February launch, NASA has identified windows throughout March and April. The March series begins on the 6th at 8:29 PM ET, while April windows open as early as 6:24 PM ET on April 1st—notably the only daytime launch opportunity in the released schedule, occurring approximately 1.3 hours before sunset.

Artemis I
Photo: Charles Boyer

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