NASA delays Artemis II launch, which means mission to moon will begin Feb. 8 or later

Cold climate in Cape Canaveral, Florida, has prompted NASA to delay a critical dress rehearsal for the Artemis II launch. That means its moon-bound mission has additionally been delayed to Feb. 8 or later.

The crew had deliberate to conduct a vital costume rehearsal working via launch-day procedures this weekend. That has now been delayed, with the simulated launch for the costume rehearsal starting Monday night.

“Managers have assessed hardware capabilities against the projected forecast given the rare arctic outbreak affecting the state and decided to change the timeline,” NASA stated in an update on its website. “Teams and preparations at the launch pad remain ready for the wet dress rehearsal. However, adjusting the timeline for the test will position NASA for success during the rehearsal, as the expected weather this weekend would violate launch conditions.”

NASA has several criteria for weather conditions for when it can not launch Artemis II, together with if temperatures are close to freezing.

The 4 astronauts flying out on Artemis II — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — remain in quarantine in Houston. Eventually, they are going to be dropped at Florida within the days main as much as the launch.

The moist costume rehearsal — referred to as so as a result of crews will gasoline up the rockets, fairly than simulate doing so — is a important preparation main as much as the mission. It will simulate the launch, as much as about 30 seconds till the rockets take off, permitting NASA to find out firsthand whether or not Artemis II is prepared for its historic flight.

In delaying the moist costume rehearsal, and the launch by extension, that leaves NASA with a narrower window to launch in February. NASA engineers have decided a number of dates of availability when Artemis II and the moon will likely be positioned good for the mission to be a hit.

Now, there are solely three dates in February when that is attainable: Feb. 8, 10, and 11. If Artemis II is just not prepared by that time — or if an issue ought to happen through the moist costume rehearsal — it turns into more and more possible that Artemis II won’t fly till March or April.

SpaceX Crew-12 additionally getting ready for launch

In the midst of this, NASA can be getting ready for an extra flight in February. The SpaceX Crew-12, the successor to the crew that abruptly left the International Space Station in January for a medical situation, which was a primary for NASA, will likely be heading to the house station.

Administrators are hoping to maneuver up Crew-12’s launch by a couple of days, in order to higher workers the ISS. Now, NASA is prepping for a possible launch as soon as Feb. 11 for Crew-12.

In a information convention Friday, Crew-12’s administrative workforce stated it’s deferring to Artemis II to a sure diploma. If the Artemis II mission launches by Feb. 11, Crew-12 won’t launch till Feb. 19. But, if Artemis II misses its February launch window, Crew-12 will plan to launch earlier.

Asked by reporters if the potential overlap of the missions may inhibit the work of the Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control in Houston, NASA leaders stated it will not.

“Those teams work very closely, they sit next to each other in some cases, and so it’s really a very well-coordinated effort when there is any overlap,” stated Dina Contella, ISS program deputy director. “For the most part, you’ve got one team focused on Artemis, and one team focused on Crew-12.”

Copyright 2026 Houston Public Media News 88.7