Overview
- The fully stacked Space Launch System and Orion are at Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39B for integrated checkouts ahead of a wet dress rehearsal by February 2.
- If the rehearsal goes to plan, NASA is targeting the earliest liftoff on February 6, with additional windows later in February, March, and April if needed.
- Artemis II is a roughly 10-day lunar flyby designed to validate Orion, the SLS, and deep-space systems including life support, communications, and radiation monitoring.
- The crew comprises Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who will follow a free-return, figure-eight trajectory beyond the Moon.
- NASA’s “send your name” campaign remains open through January 21, with about 1.5 million names set to fly on an SD card aboard Orion.