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6m ago

Artemis II Crew Heads to Florida as NASA Enters Final Countdown for April 1 Launch

The move signals NASA's shift from troubleshooting to launch operations.

FILE - NASA's Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) moon rocket with the Orion spacecraft slowly rolls back towards the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, Feb. 25, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File
(From left) NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen are seen in January at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Artemis II crew members (from left) Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman are seen on their way to board the Orion spacecraft as part of a demo test in December.
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Overview

  • Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen travel to Kennedy Space Center on Friday for final prelaunch steps before a lunar flyby mission.
  • NASA is targeting no earlier than 6:24 p.m. EDT on April 1 with backup opportunities through April 6 and again on April 30 due to strict alignment, sunlight and reentry constraints.
  • The Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule stand at Launch Complex 39B, supported by a roughly 48‑hour countdown plan that sequences fueling, crew ingress and timed holds.
  • Engineers fixed a liquid hydrogen leak and a helium‑flow fault found in February tests, rolled the stack back for repairs, and opted against another full fueling rehearsal before launch.
  • The 10‑day free‑return flight will test Orion’s life support, navigation, communications and heat shield and will mark firsts for a woman, a Black astronaut and a non‑American traveling to the Moon’s vicinity.