Artemis II is planned as the first crewed flight of NASA's Artemis program.
NASA moved the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for Artemis II to the launch pad at 11:21 ET on April 1 was the earliest possible launch opportunity.
Artemis II is planned as a circumlunar mission to validate life support, navigation, and communications systems in real mission conditions.
Artemis II will carry astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft.
Teams at the Kennedy Space Center are finalizing repairs on the Artemis II hardware after a helium issue was identified in the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.
A successful Artemis II flight in spring 2026 is a key milestone for NASA’s accelerated lunar landing schedule.
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida set Friday, March 20 as the new rollout date for the Artemis II launch vehicle from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B.
NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission and commercial lunar lander activity are increasing the U.S. Space Force’s focus on cislunar operations.
NASA will monitor the Artemis II rollout through an official livestream.
The Artemis II rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B can take up to 12 hours on the crawler-transporter.
The flight termination system wiring issue on Artemis II’s core stage has been resolved.
Artemis II is a key mission in NASA’s lunar exploration program.
Engineers identified a wiring issue in the flight termination system on Artemis II’s core stage that required replacement.
Artemis II is designed as the first crewed mission of the Space Launch System-Orion system.
Artemis II will conduct a crewed circumlunar flight to verify the system’s performance in real operating conditions before later lunar landing missions.
L3Harris is preparing mission-critical avionics and RS-25 engines for the Artemis II crewed mission.
The Artemis II launch window is expected to open on 1 April.
Artemis II will be the first flight to use L3Harris’s mission-critical avionics and RS-25 engines to carry humans into the lunar vicinity in over 50 years.
Artemis II is a crewed mission that will fly around the Moon without landing on the lunar surface.
The Artemis II launch windows in Central European Summer Time were 00:24 on 2 April, 01:22 on 3 April, 02:00 on 4 April, 02:53 on 5 April, 03:40 on 6 April, and 04:36 on 7 April 2026.