Artemis II Edges Closer to Launch as Critical Wet Dress Rehearsal Countdown Unfolds
If all proceeds as planned, the upcoming test will clear the path for NASA’s first human mission beyond low Earth orbit in more than 50 years…and start the final countdown toward the Artemis III lunar landing campaign.
As I noted in an earlier report, Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed test flight of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.
This will be a 10‑day mission that will send four astronauts on a lunar flyby to validate life‑support, navigation, and other systems before future Moon landings. It is the first human mission to the vicinity of the Moon since Apollo 17. My last report focused on preparations for the “Wet Dress Rehearsal”.
The rehearsal, which will push the spacecraft to its limits without astronauts aboard, is slated for Monday.
NASA continues to press ahead through the countdown for the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal – a fueling test of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. Teams monitored all systems throughout the overnight hours during cold temperatures and high winds at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Early this morning, at approximately L-39 hours and 30 minutes, teams powered up the rocket’s core stage, which soon will be loaded with more than 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen during the tanking phase of the countdown.
This will occur over a series of different propellant loading milestones to fill, top off, and replenish the tanks. The interim cryogenic propulsion stage was powered up overnight. Orion has remained powered over the last several days due to cold temperatures in Florida. Engineers are preparing to charge Orion’s flight batteries and soon will begin core stage battery charge. Later today, engineers will conduct final preparations of the umbilical arms and perform a walkdown at the launch pad.
The countdown for the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal is already underway.
The countdown clock began at 8:13 p.m. EST, or L-48 hours, 40 minutes before the opening of a simulated launch window at 9 pm. Mon, Feb. 2. The test is expected to go until approximately 1 a.m. Feb. 3.
…The countdown contains “L minus” and “T minus” times. “L minus” indicates how far away we are from liftoff in hours and minutes. “T minus” time is a sequence of events that are built into the countdown. Pauses in the countdown, or “holds,” are built into the countdown to allow the launch team to target a precise launch window, and to provide a cushion of time for certain tasks and procedures without impacting the overall schedule. During planned holds in the countdown process, the countdown clock is intentionally stopped and the T- time also stops. The L- time, however, continues to advance.
During the rehearsal, the team will execute a detailed countdown sequence. They will pause at T-1 minute and 30 seconds for up to three minutes, then resume until T-33 seconds before launch and pause again. After that, they will recycle the clock back to T-10 minutes and conduct a second terminal countdown to approximately T-33 seconds before ending the sequence. This process simulates real-world conditions, including scenarios where a launch might be scrubbed due to technical or weather issues. At the end of the test, the team will drain the propellant and review all data before setting an official target launch date.
While the Artemis II crew members are not participating in the wet dress rehearsal, crew milestones occurring during launch day will be incorporated into the test timeline and the Artemis closeout crew will practice their closeout operations, which include closing the Orion crew module and launch abort system hatches.
I don’t think people really understand why Artemis II is such a big deal. Artemis II will travel farther from Earth than any previous human mission, setting a new record for human spaceflight distance. The crew will travel 4,600 nautical miles (5,300 miles) beyond the far side of… pic.twitter.com/bCfhIakyOk
— Natalie F Danelishen (@Chesschick01) January 30, 2026
The target launch date is now February 8th due to cold weather affecting the country. Further delays will push the launch date into next month.
The first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years is on hold as winter weather in Florida forces NASA to push back launch plans for Artemis II.
The agency says near-freezing temperatures and strong winds at Kennedy Space Center prompted managers to delay a crucial fueling test — known as the wet dress rehearsal — and slide the earliest possible launch date to no sooner than Feb. 8.
…According to the Associated Press, heaters have been keeping the Orion capsule warm atop the 322-foot Space Launch System rocket while engineers adjust purge systems to protect hardware from the rare cold snap. Mission officials cautioned that any further delays would shift the schedule day-for-day and could push the launch window into March.
Of course, as we recently experienced an aurora display during a significant solar storm, launch officials must also be mindful of space weather. For February 2, 2026, forecasts indicate generally quiet-to-unsettled geomagnetic conditions, with continued chances for M‑class flares from active region AR4366, but no major storm (G‑level) event is currently expected without a new Earth‑directed coronal mass ejection (CME).
Literally watching AR4366 boil over. 🔥
Following rapid, compact growth, the triggering of solar flares is inevitable due to tightly entangled magnetic field lines. This region has now produced multiple M-class flares and 1 X-class flare, and it is highly likely that this… pic.twitter.com/4gpLyTS6Ph
— ☀️ Sara Housseal ☀️ (@SNHWx) February 1, 2026
With critical systems verified and the Orion spacecraft safeguarded against the cold, NASA is approaching the final milestones before the crewed launch of Artemis II.
The team now waits for favorable weather conditions on Earth and the Sun to resume the countdown at Kennedy Space Center.
If all proceeds as planned, the upcoming test will clear the path for NASA’s first human mission beyond low Earth orbit in more than 50 years…and start the final countdown toward the Artemis III lunar landing mission.
NASA will stream the rehearsal live for those who want to watch this historic event.
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Comments
So we are spending billions of dollars repeating something done almost 60 years ago proving once again that NASA is nothing more than a welfare based jobs program. After almost 60 years one would think you could by a ticket to circle the moon as easy as buying a plane ticket to Miami.
K-jon said-
“After almost 60 years one would think you could by a ticket to circle the moon as easy as buying a plane ticket to Miami.”
If you really want that to become a reality someday, the only way it will happen is by going back to the moon.
I think your vision is severely limited. This could be NASA’s first bold step toward opening it’s first Lunar DEI office. After all, the Moon WAS built by immigrants, wasn’t it!?
I didn’t bother watching the first landing and won’t bother with this either.
We’re BILLIONS and BILLIONS in debt. We are broke! Yet we spend money on this and other welfare programs.
thats no way to escape leftys takeover of america
As I said before a 10 day mission around the moon is no way to test the first crewed launch of a new space system with only one previous unmanned launch in the books, Too many things can go wrong.
I’ve been thinking the same thing. There certainly are many things that can go wrong, but the Saturn V only had two uncrewed test flights before the Apollo 8 crewed mission around the moon.
Is just one uncrewed test flight enough? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
At least there were three uncrewed test fights of the Apollo capsule before Apollo 7 and 8.
Same situation with the Artemis Orion capsule. It’s had 2 uncrewed test flights versus three for the Apollo capsule. Artemis 1 did take the Orion around the moon and returned with a successful splashdown. Hopefully NASA has learned enough from past mistakes to make this work.
Compare and contrast with SpaceX starship development which emphasizes lots of launches (without crew) and incremental changes until they think they have things right.
With respect, personally I wish you wouldn’t have cited Natalie F Danelishen/@Chesschick01 as a source for facts and/or perspective, whether regarding this particular topic or any other.
She’s an unalloyed Massie fanatic — while she may be correct on her NASA-related facts, surely there’s someone else who can be the go-to source for those instead.
(Or at least she was a Massie booster last I checked — which was prior to his surprise wedding announcement [@Chesschick01 was gushing about/over Massie seemingly every other tweet until that point in time].)