Overview
- NASA’s SLS and Orion completed a 4‑mile, nearly 12‑hour rollout to Launch Complex 39B on Jan. 17, arriving at 6:42 p.m. EST and beginning pad hookups and integrated checks.
- The wet dress rehearsal will load more than 700,000 gallons of super‑cold propellants and run a mock countdown to about T‑30 seconds before draining the tanks.
- After the rehearsal, a Flight Readiness Review will set a launch date within windows that open Feb. 6, with additional opportunities identified in March and April, according to mission managers.
- Teams may repeat the rehearsal or roll the stack back to the Vehicle Assembly Building if data points to further work, reflecting a safety‑first approach informed by Artemis I fueling lessons.
- The 10‑day lunar flyby will carry Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen past the Moon’s far side using ESA’s European Service Module, and NASA’s public name‑submission program closes Jan. 21.