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yesterday

NASA Targets April 1 Launch for Artemis II After Flight Readiness ‘Go’

Mission leaders cleared the flight after repairs to a helium-seal fault in the rocket’s upper stage.

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, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
NASA's Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft are rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan., 17, 2026.
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Overview

  • Following a two-day Flight Readiness Review, managers and the crew unanimously approved proceeding toward an April 1 liftoff at 6:24 p.m. EDT, with additional launch opportunities through April 6 and April 2 as an immediate backup.
  • The Space Launch System and Orion are scheduled to roll back to Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39B on March 19 as teams complete final closeout work in the Vehicle Assembly Building.
  • Engineers replaced and tested a faulty helium quick‑disconnect seal in the SLS upper stage and refreshed key batteries, resolving issues that prompted last month’s rollback.
  • NASA will forgo another wet dress rehearsal, with the next full tanking planned for launch day as leaders stress a careful test-flight posture without assigning a single probabilistic risk number.
  • Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will fly a roughly 10‑day free‑return around the Moon without landing, entering quarantine March 18 and traveling to Florida around March 27.