Overview

• Orion has completed full propellant loading and been relocated to Kennedy’s Launch Abort System Facility.
• Engineers have started mounting the 44-foot abort tower that can pull the crew module away from the rocket in an emergency.
• Once the abort system is fitted, NASA will transfer the full Orion stack to the Vehicle Assembly Building for final integration with the Space Launch System.
• Artemis 2’s four-person crew has wrapped up full suits-on simulations to validate survival systems and communications protocols.
• NASA holds a February–April 2026 launch window for the 10-day lunar flyby and cautions that the earliest date depends on remaining tests.