KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – NASA announced it is preparing to roll out the Artemis II rocket and Orion spacecraft from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center no earlier than Jan. 17, marking a major milestone toward the first crewed mission of the Artemis program.
The four‑mile move, carried by crawler‑transporter‑2, is expected to take up to 12 hours as teams begin final integration, testing and launch rehearsals. NASA said crews have been working around the clock to close out remaining tasks ahead of rollout, though the date could shift if additional technical work or weather delays arise.
“We are moving closer to Artemis II, with rollout just around the corner,” said Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. “We have important steps remaining on our path to launch and crew safety will remain our top priority at every turn, as we near humanity’s return to the Moon.”
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As engineers worked to troubleshoot several issues in recent weeks, technicians replaced a bent cable tied to the flight termination system and resolved a valve problem associated with Orion’s hatch pressurization. Teams also addressed leaky ground support hardware used to load gaseous oxygen into Orion.
Once the SLS and Orion reach the pad, NASA will begin connecting ground support equipment, powering up integrated systems and verifying that flight hardware, the mobile launcher and pad infrastructure operate together as designed. The Artemis II crew — NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — will conduct a final walkdown at the pad.
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NASA plans a wet dress rehearsal at the end of January, during which teams will load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellant into the rocket and run through multiple countdown sequences. The test will include several holds and recycles in the final minutes of the countdown to validate launch procedures and updated protocols developed after challenges during Artemis I.
NASA is planning on rolling out the Artemis II rocket and spacecraft from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at @NASAKennedy no earlier than Jan. 17. The four-mile journey will take up to 12 hours. pic.twitter.com/U4sAPzG5tJ
— NASA (@NASA) January 10, 2026
Following the rehearsal, NASA will convene a flight readiness review before selecting a launch date. The earliest launch window opens Feb. 6, with additional opportunities through mid‑April based on orbital mechanics, lighting constraints and mission requirements.
Artemis II will send astronauts on a roughly 10‑day flight around the moon, the first crewed mission beyond Earth orbit in more than 50 years and a key step toward establishing a sustained human presence on the lunar surface.