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    Wet Dress Rehearsal Countdown Progressing for Artemis II

    A full Moon is seen shining over NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher in the early hours of February 1, 2026. The rocket is currently at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as teams are preparing for a wet dress rehearsal to practice timelines and procedures for the launch of Artemis II.

    NASA continues to press ahead through the countdown for the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal – a fueling test of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. Teams monitored all systems throughout the overnight hours during cold temperatures and high winds at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  Early this morning, at approximately L-39 hours and 30 minutes, teams powered up the rocket’s core stage, which soon will be loaded […]

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    Countdown Begins for Artemis II Wet Dress Rehearsal

    NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, are seen at Launch Pad 39B, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth no later than April 2026.

    The countdown for the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal is underway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The countdown clock began at 8:13 p.m. EST, or L-48 hours, 40 minutes before the opening of a simulated launch window at 9 pm. Mon, Feb. 2. The test is expected to go until approximately 1 a.m. […]

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    NASA Updates Artemis II Wet Dress Rehearsal, Launch Opportunities

    NASA is targeting Monday, Feb. 2, as the tanking day for the upcoming Artemis II wet dress rehearsal at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as a result of weather. With this change, the first potential opportunity to launch is no earlier than Sunday, Feb. 8. Over the past several days, engineers have been […]

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    NASA Moves Steps Closer to Artemis II Fueling Test Ahead of Launch

    Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida continue to prepare the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, Orion spacecraft, and ground infrastructure in advance of the Artemis II test flight. Engineers have remained on track or ahead of schedule as they work through planned activities at the launch pad and are getting ready to conduct […]

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    Artemis II Crew Enters Quarantine Ahead of Journey Around Moon

    The next astronauts to fly around the Moon went into quarantine late Friday. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will ensure that they don’t pick up any illness that could delay their mission by limiting their exposure to others in the days before […]

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    Launch Pad Preparations Progress Ahead of Artemis II Wet Dress Rehearsal 

    Shortly after NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft arrived to Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 17, engineers began preparations for an upcoming wet dress rehearsal, a fueling test of the rocket set to occur before launch.   Technicians hooked up purge lines meant to keep cavities of […]

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    NASA’s Moonbound Artemis II Rocket Reaches Launch Pad

    NASA's orange and white Space Launch System rocket on the launch pad.

    Editor’s Note: The timeframe for a wet dress rehearsal has been updated. At 6:42 p.m. EST on Saturday, Jan. 17, NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft reached Launch Pad 39B after a nearly 12-hour journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Hours earlier, NASA’s […]

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    NASA’s Artemis II Moon Rocket on Way to Launch Pad 

    NASA"s orange SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, with the Orion spacecraft on top stands inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

    The SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft that will carry four astronauts around the Moon is rolling to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four-mile trek began at 7:04 a.m. EST on Saturday, Jan. 17, and is expected to take up to 12 hours. The 11-million-pound stack has been undergoing preparations […]

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    Artemis II Moon Rocket Ready for Big Move

    All work platforms are retracted from around NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

    Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency’s Artemis II Moon rocket stands poised for the next step in its journey. Engineers are targeting no earlier than 7 a.m. EST, Saturday, Jan. 17, to begin rolling NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile […]

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    NASA Draws Closer to Artemis II Rocket Completion with Newest Addition

    The Orion stage adapter connects the upper stage to the Orion spacecraft, isolates the spacecraft from hazardous gases, deploys small science satellites, and will be used in a maneuvering test during the Artemis II mission.

    NASA integrated the Artemis II Orion stage adapter with the rest of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on Wednesday in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s  Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Built by NASA engineers at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the adapter connects the rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion […]

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