NASA delays critical Artemis 2 rocket fueling test
Digest more
The Artemis II mission, which could launch as soon as 6 February, will carry astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
NASA on Friday pushed back the earliest date that astronauts could fly to the Moon, due to forecasts of freezing temperatures at the Florida launch site. Florida is not immune: the normally sunny state could experience its lowest temperatures in decades that are forecast to hover around freezing.
Systems and procedures are tested including loading the rocket with 700,000 gallons of super-cold fuels.
The Artemis II mission will set several notable human spaceflight records. Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will travel farther from Earth than any human in history. They won’t land. That distinction will fall to the next mission in line in NASA’s Artemis program.
Live updates from SpaceX’s Sunday evening Starlink 6-100 mission that launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Another SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is due to launch on the West Coast. Californians have plenty of ways to watch liftoff, including a livestream.