Overview
- NASA’s Space Launch System, Orion capsule and mobile launcher are now at Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39B, with checkouts of the rocket, solid boosters and an emergency egress test underway.
- Teams plan a wet dress rehearsal that will load liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and run a practice countdown to roughly T‑29 seconds to validate procedures and spot issues such as fuel leaks.
- Launch opportunities are available Feb. 6–8 and Feb. 10–11, though the agency has not set an official target date and will review rehearsal data before deciding on an attempt.
- The roughly 10‑day flight will test Orion’s life support, control interfaces, radiation protection and heat shield as the spacecraft loops the moon and travels about 4,700 miles beyond its far side before returning to Earth.
- The crew comprises NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA is inviting the public to add their names digitally to an SD card that will fly aboard Orion.