Overview
- Launch teams are loading more than 700,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the Space Launch System and running terminal‑count exercises with planned holds and clock recycles.
- The test follows a Feb. 2–3 attempt cut short by hazardous hydrogen leaks; engineers replaced two umbilical seals and a clogged ground‑support filter and refined procedures after a Feb. 12 partial fueling check.
- NASA is providing a dedicated livestream and real‑time blog updates and will hold a Feb. 20 news conference to report results and next steps.
- The Artemis II crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—is not on the pad, while a separate team rehearses Orion closeout tasks including hatch operations.
- Mission managers have not set a launch date; March 6 is the earliest opportunity if the rehearsal and subsequent data reviews confirm readiness, with additional dates identified in the first half of March.