NASA had initially delayed the Artemis 2 flight to April 2026 back in 2024, but the organization now anticipates a possible start in February, with the initial window opening on February 6. The space agency is in the closing stages of setup for the voyage and plans to soon transport the Space Launch System rocket along with the Orion capsule to the launch site at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. This four-mile trek from the integration facility to Launch Complex 39B is expected to last as long as 12 hours. Officials aim for a rollout no sooner than January 17, with the precise timing influenced by meteorological conditions and any required fixes for engineering concerns.
As the initial human-carrying lunar trip since the Apollo era's concluding voyage in 1972, Artemis 2 will span 10 days and carry a quartet of crew members tasked with evaluating Orion's essential environmental controls to ensure viability for extended future explorations. The crew will circle the planet two times prior to venturing approximately 4,700 miles past the moon's distant hemisphere. Should the relocation of the SLS and Orion proceed on schedule, NASA will execute a propellant-loading simulation toward the close of January. This exercise will involve filling the booster with supercooled fuels and running a complete pre-launch sequence to ready operations for the actual liftoff.