NASA announced in a release on Monday that it’s targeting Thursday, Feb. 19, as the tanking day for the second wet dress rehearsal ahead of the Artemis II test flight.The nearly 50-hour countdown for the simulated launch will begin on Feb. 17 at 6:40 p.m., making the simulated launch time 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 19 from Kennedy Space Center.There will be a four-hour window for the test to take place.The crew will not participate in the test, but a team of personnel will be at the launch pad to practice specific operations for Orion closeout, like closing the spacecraft’s hatches, NASA added in the release.NASA said the operators will conduct two runs of the last 10 minutes of the countdown, known as the terminal count, adding that this process is meant to simulate real-world conditions like scenarios where a launch may be scrubbed due to technical or weather issues. The simulated launch has been delayed previously due to cold weather.On Feb. 3, when the first wet dress rehearsal occurred, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the issues they found during the simulation, pushing the actual launch date to no earlier than March 6.NASA also held a news conference to discuss the wet dress rehearsal and new plans for the upcoming launch earlier this month.Watch the full conference in the video player below.
MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. —
NASA announced in a release on Monday that it’s targeting Thursday, Feb. 19, as the tanking day for the second wet dress rehearsal ahead of the Artemis II test flight.
The nearly 50-hour countdown for the simulated launch will begin on Feb. 17 at 6:40 p.m., making the simulated launch time 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 19 from Kennedy Space Center.
There will be a four-hour window for the test to take place.
The crew will not participate in the test, but a team of personnel will be at the launch pad to practice specific operations for Orion closeout, like closing the spacecraft’s hatches, NASA added in the release.
NASA said the operators will conduct two runs of the last 10 minutes of the countdown, known as the terminal count, adding that this process is meant to simulate real-world conditions like scenarios where a launch may be scrubbed due to technical or weather issues.
The simulated launch has been delayed previously due to cold weather.
On Feb. 3, when the first wet dress rehearsal occurred, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the issues they found during the simulation, pushing the actual launch date to no earlier than March 6.
This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
With the conclusion of the wet dress rehearsal today, we are moving off the February launch window and targeting March for the earliest possible launch of Artemis II.
With more than three years between SLS launches, we fully anticipated encountering challenges. That is precisely…
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) February 3, 2026
NASA also held a news conference to discuss the wet dress rehearsal and new plans for the upcoming launch earlier this month.
Watch the full conference in the video player below.