NASA’s moon rocket closer to critical fueling test ahead of historic launch
By Brendan Byrne
January 27, 2026 at 1:43 PM EST
Teams at the Kennedy Space Center are inching closer to a critical test of the moon rocket that could launch a crew of four on a mission to the moon and back as early as next month.
Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, at left, NASA Artemis launch director; and Jeremy Graeber, assistant Artemis launch director, monitor the terminal countdown simulation for the Artemis II mission inside Firing Room at the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (853x1280, AR: 0.66640625)
The Wet Dress Rehearsal is a practice run of launch day operations of NASA’s Artemis II mission. It includes loading more than 700,000 pounds of super-cold propellants into the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, conducting a simulated countdown, and then unloading all that fuel safely.
NASA says engineers are on track, and even ahead of schedule, when it comes to preparing for the test, which could happen as early as Saturday. After the test, launch officials would review the data before giving the go-ahead to launch the rocket and the Orion spacecraft on a trip taking the four-person crew on a mission around the moon and back.
If needed, NASA could roll back SLS and Orion to the Vehicle Assembly Building to fix any issues ahead of the launch.
A five-day launch window for the Artemis II mission opens on Feb. 6, although NASA has not announced an official target date. There are additional launch opportunities in March and April.
NASA says teams are working a few issues that have cropped up since the rocket arrived at its pad earlier this month. During a test of the emergency evacuation system, which is designed to carry the crew and technicians away from the launch pad and to the ground, the baskets stopped short of their intended target. The agency said an adjustment of the basket’s brake system solved the problem.
Technicians are also monitoring the Orion spacecraft’s potable water system after an initial test found higher levels of organic carbon than expected. The system provides the crew with drinkable water during their mission.
Crews are also preparing the rocket for colder than normal temperatures which rolled into Florida’s Space Coast Tuesday. That includes keeping Orion and the SLS rocket at the proper conditions – NASA has a set of weather criteria that must be met before fueling or launching the rocket.
Artemis II crew members (from left) CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman walk out of Astronaut Crew Quarters inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building to the Artemis crew transportation vehicles prior to traveling to Launch Pad 39B as part of an integrated ground systems test at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Sept. 20, to test the crew timeline for launch day. (1280x863, AR: 1.4831981460023176)
As work continues at the pad to prepare for the launch, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, began their required quarantine in Houston, Texas, on Jan. 23. They will arrive at Kennedy Space Center six days ahead of their launch, and remain in a quarantine facility at the Center before blast off.
Once launched, Artemis II will carry the first humans to the moon since 1972 – the final Apollo mission. The 10-day mission is a key test of the Orion spacecraft, its life support system and heat shield ahead of the following mission, which aims to land humans on the lunar surface.
Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, at left, NASA Artemis launch director; and Jeremy Graeber, assistant Artemis launch director, monitor the terminal countdown simulation for the Artemis II mission inside Firing Room at the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (853x1280, AR: 0.66640625)
The Wet Dress Rehearsal is a practice run of launch day operations of NASA’s Artemis II mission. It includes loading more than 700,000 pounds of super-cold propellants into the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, conducting a simulated countdown, and then unloading all that fuel safely.
NASA says engineers are on track, and even ahead of schedule, when it comes to preparing for the test, which could happen as early as Saturday. After the test, launch officials would review the data before giving the go-ahead to launch the rocket and the Orion spacecraft on a trip taking the four-person crew on a mission around the moon and back.
If needed, NASA could roll back SLS and Orion to the Vehicle Assembly Building to fix any issues ahead of the launch.
A five-day launch window for the Artemis II mission opens on Feb. 6, although NASA has not announced an official target date. There are additional launch opportunities in March and April.
NASA says teams are working a few issues that have cropped up since the rocket arrived at its pad earlier this month. During a test of the emergency evacuation system, which is designed to carry the crew and technicians away from the launch pad and to the ground, the baskets stopped short of their intended target. The agency said an adjustment of the basket’s brake system solved the problem.
Technicians are also monitoring the Orion spacecraft’s potable water system after an initial test found higher levels of organic carbon than expected. The system provides the crew with drinkable water during their mission.
Crews are also preparing the rocket for colder than normal temperatures which rolled into Florida’s Space Coast Tuesday. That includes keeping Orion and the SLS rocket at the proper conditions – NASA has a set of weather criteria that must be met before fueling or launching the rocket.
Artemis II crew members (from left) CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman walk out of Astronaut Crew Quarters inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building to the Artemis crew transportation vehicles prior to traveling to Launch Pad 39B as part of an integrated ground systems test at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Sept. 20, to test the crew timeline for launch day. (1280x863, AR: 1.4831981460023176)
As work continues at the pad to prepare for the launch, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, began their required quarantine in Houston, Texas, on Jan. 23. They will arrive at Kennedy Space Center six days ahead of their launch, and remain in a quarantine facility at the Center before blast off.
Once launched, Artemis II will carry the first humans to the moon since 1972 – the final Apollo mission. The 10-day mission is a key test of the Orion spacecraft, its life support system and heat shield ahead of the following mission, which aims to land humans on the lunar surface.