The countdown to launch of the Artemis II mission, NASA's first piloted moonshot in half a century, proceeded smoothly Tuesday as engineers and technicians prepared the agency's giant Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule for fueling and blastoff Wednesday evening.
After clearing nonessential personnel from the "blast danger area" and verifying rocket and ground system readiness, engineers planned to begin pumping nearly 760,000 gallons of super-cold liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuel into the 322-foot-tall SLS rocket's two stages starting around 7:34 a.m. ET Wednesday.
The fueling process will take about five and a half hours to complete, and engineers are optimistic a repaired quick-disconnect fitting that leaked during a dress rehearsal countdown in February will prove leak-free this time around.
Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen spent the day relaxing, reviewing their flight plans and getting updates on the countdown, among other day-before-launch tasks.
They will be awakened Wednesday about two hours after the start of fueling. After breakfast and a weather briefing, they'll don their bright orange pressure suits and head for pad 39B to strap in for launch at 6:24 p.m., the opening of a two-hour window.
Forecasters continue to predict an 80% chance of favorable weather throughout the window, but warn that possible afternoon cloud buildups and isolated showers could prompt brief delays to allow time for clouds or rain to move out of the launch area.
Jeff Spaulding, NASA's senior countdown test director and a space shuttle veteran, said engineers and technicians working in the launch control center "are excited and ready to go on this, this first chapter on our way back to the moon since the 1970s."
He said engineers were not working any significant technical problems going into the final day of the countdown.
Iran hits more Gulf targets as U.S., Israel continue strikes
Trump sends mixed messages on Iran
NASA head says Artemis II will pave the way for "astronauts planting the Stars and Stripes on Mars"
This ‘CSI: Miami’ star spent years solving crimes on TV. Then she became the target of one herself.- OPEC’s No. 2 Producer Burns Its Own Gas—Then Buys Iran’s
- I'm an 83-year-old yoga instructor. I'm not your typical grandma — I still work to feel fulfilled and supplement my Social Security.
- Russia’s New KVS Drone May Be Designed To Restore Reach In The FPV War
- China and Pakistan issue five-point peace plan for Middle East
- They died 'doing what they loved': The stories of workers in their 80s who died on the job
- NASA satellite gazes into Medusa Pool | Space photo of the day for Dec. 24, 2025
- Bolsonaro says hallucinatory effects of meds made him tamper with ankle tag
- Abbott issues US device correction for some glucose monitors over faulty readings risk
