Artemis 2 SLS wet dress rehearsal latest information: NASA begins countdown for critical fueling test

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2026-02-01T19:50:11.305Z

Artemis 2 moon rocket powered up for test

(Image credit: NASA/Sam Lott)

NASA engineers occupy powered up the mountainous core stage of the Artemis 2 Residence Initiate System rocket that might rob four astronuts to the moon later this month, however finest if the mega booster passes a critical fueling test on Monday, Feb. 2 at its Pad 39B initiate pad on the Kennedy Residence Heart in Florida.

NASA began the 49-hour countdown toward the fueling test (which reaches a simulated initiate time at 9 p.m. EST on Monday) on Saturday night, with the clock started at 8:13 p.m. EST (2313 GMT). If all goes smartly, the Artemis 2 mission might per chance well initiate astronauts to the moon as early as Feb. 8.

Overnight, NASA powered up the second stage of the rocket and earlier on the present time the big core stage of the 322-foot Residence Initiate System booster turned into once powered on, NASA talked about.

“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,” NASA wrote in an replace.

“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,” the company talked about.

2026-02-01T14:17:forty five.435Z

Countdown begins for Artemis 2 fueling test

(Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Exact morning, space fans! Fully happy Sunday.

NASA formally began the countdown final night for its upcomiong Artemis 2 fueling test as it works toward a Feb. 8 initiate target for the first astronaut shuttle all the arrangement thru the moon in over 50 years.

The countdown began at 8:13 p.m. EST (2313 GMT), which marked the L-forty eight hours, 40-minute designate to a “simulated” initiate time on Monday, Feb. 2 at 9 p.m. EST (0200 Feb. 3). The so-called wet dress rehearsal will flee thru about 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) on Feb. 3, NASA has talked about.

You might per chance well per chance watch are living views of the Artemis 2 moon rocket on the initiate pad right here.

“This test will run the launch team, as well as supporting teams in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and other supporting NASA centers, through a full range of operations, including loading cryogenic liquid propellant into the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s tanks, conducting a launch countdown, demonstrating the ability to recycle the countdown clock, and draining the tanks to practice scrub procedures,” NASA wrote in an replace. “These steps ensure the team is fully prepared for launch day.”

The Artemis 2 mission will final about 10 days and ship four astronauts all the arrangement thru the moon on an Orion spacecraft atop NASA’s wide Residence Initiate System megarocket. The initiate window this month runs from Feb. 8 to Feb. 11, with extra windows in March and April.

2026-01-31T16:forty eight:13.998Z

Artemis 2 fueling test to begin up preps tonight

(Image credit: Residence.com / Josh Dinner)

Exact morning, Residence Followers!

This present day is Saturday, Jan. 31 and tonight NASA is gearing as much as to begin up its first fueling test for the the Artemis 2 Residence Initiate System moon rocket for a so-called “wet dress rehearsal.” That is NASA-be in contact for let’s gasoline up the rocket and watch whether it is working accurate.

Whereas the fueling test is genuinely scheduled for Monday, Feb. 2, the work genuinely begins tonight at about 8 p.m. ET (0100 Feb. 1 GMT). That is because initiate flight controllers and pad engineers ought to begin up taking their stations 49 hours BEFORE the fueling test’s planned T-0 “launch” time of 9 p.m. ET on Monday.

The Artemis 2 fueling test is being performed at Initiate Pad 39A of NASA’s Kennedy Residence Heart in Florida, where the towering 322-foot rocket turned into once rolled out earlier this month.

The fueling test has seesawed a bit back and forth. It turned into once first and foremost scheduled for Feb. 2, then moved as much as Jan. 31, then pushed back to Feb. 2 due to freezing temperatures on the Kennedy Residence Heart this weekend.

The Artemis 2 initiate date will depend on the outcomes of this fueling test. For the time being, Artemis 2 is scheduled to initiate 4 astronauts to the moon no sooner than Feb. 8.

2026-01-30T23:44:33.209Z

Artemis 2 moon initiate might per chance well extend ISS Crew-12 mission

The Crew-12 astronauts are (from left to accurate): NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Residence Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.  (Image credit: NASA)

NASA’s opinion to initiate its Artemis 2 astronauts all the arrangement thru the moon around Feb. 8 has solid doubt on whether or not the next U.S. crew initiate to the World Residence Declare will rob off on time.

Artemis 2 is at display scheduled to initiate four astronauts all the arrangement thru the moon gradual within the evening on Feb. 8 from Initiate Pad 39B on the Kennedy Residence Heart in Florida. NASA’s Crew-12 mission to the ISS turned into once scheduled to initiate on a SpaceX Dragon tablet and Falcon 9 rocket from a shut-by pad on the Cape Canaveral Residence Force Declare.

Nonetheless if Artemis 2 launches on time, or anytime all the arrangement thru its initiate window of Feb. 8 to Feb. 11, NASA will wait to initiate Crew-12 to the World Residence Declare unless at leas Feb. 19, after the Artemis 2 astronauts return house from their 10-day mission,

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