Artemis II simulated launch rehearsal could happen as early as Saturday

NASA will conduct a wet dress rehearsal and simulated launch for Artemis II as early as Jan. 31, and the crewed mission could launch around Feb. 6 to carry four astronauts on a lunar flyby.

NASA will run a wet dress rehearsal and a simulated launch of the Artemis II Space Launch System and Orion stack as early as Jan. 31 at Kennedy Space Center. The rehearsal will test fueling operations with cryogenic propellants and include a countdown to a simulated launch. Artemis II is the first crewed flight in the Artemis program and could launch as early as Feb. 6 to carry four astronauts on a roughly 10-day trip around the Moon. Technicians are completing checks on environmental controls and the spacecraft’s potable water system as part of final preparations. Key details: - The SLS rocket and Orion were rolled to the pad at Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 17 and are staged for tests. - A wet dress rehearsal will demonstrate fueling with more than 700,000 gallons (2.6 million liters) of cryogenic propellants and include a simulated countdown beginning at 9 p.m. EST; tests may run until about 1 a.m. EST. - NASA said engineers are on track or ahead of schedule and could hold the simulated launch as early as Jan. 31, with a possible crewed launch around Feb. 6. - Artemis II’s four-person crew is Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, who began quarantine on Jan. 23. - Technicians are adjusting environmental-control systems to handle colder-than-expected temperatures and are investigating higher-than-expected organic carbon levels found in initial potable water samples for Orion. - Communications for Artemis II will rely on NASA’s Near Space Network and Deep Space Network; Orion will experience a planned roughly 41-minute blackout when it passes behind the Moon. Summary: The rehearsals are part of final checks before NASA confirms a launch date and are intended to validate fueling, countdown, and spacecraft systems. The schedule remains subject to change, and potential launch windows for Artemis II extend through April 2026.