Overview
- The Space Launch System and Orion are positioned at Kennedy’s Pad 39B after a nearly 12‑hour rollout on crawler‑transporter‑2 from the Vehicle Assembly Building.
- A full wet dress rehearsal is planned by Feb. 2 to load cryogenic propellants and rehearse the countdown, with repeat runs possible to certify the vehicle.
- Crew members Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen are under pre‑launch health quarantine.
- The approximately 10‑day flight is set to be the first crewed lunar flyby in over five decades, focused on proving Orion’s systems for subsequent surface missions.
- NASA is targeting an early‑February launch window, with Feb. 6 reported by some outlets as a tentative date, as parallel Chinese lunar plans and unresolved governance issues keep attention on who sets rules and builds at the Moon’s poles.