Overview
- NASA set a target liftoff for 6:24 p.m. local time on April 1 from Launch Complex 39B, with additional opportunities on April 2–6 and a later backup on April 30.
- SLS and Orion are slated to roll to the pad on March 19, as the four astronauts begin quarantine on March 18 in Houston before traveling to Florida on March 27.
- Engineers replaced a faulty quick‑disconnect seal that obstructed helium flow, completed re‑tests, and emphasized that some mission risk remains.
- The roughly 10‑day test will carry Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen around the Moon without landing to validate Orion and mission operations.
- NASA reworked the broader Artemis schedule, converting Artemis III to an orbital test and moving the first planned lunar landing of the program to 2028.