KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA’s “repaired” Artemis II Moon rocket and Orion spacecraft are back on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center after an 11-hour rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Teams are now entering the final phase of prelaunch work, spending the next several days connecting ground systems and powering up the rocket to make sure everything is ready for liftoff.
The four astronauts set to fly the first crewed Artemis mission remain in quarantine and are expected back at Kennedy Space Center about a week before launch for their 10-day trip around the Moon and back.
The Artemis II crew — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen — will test life-support systems, spacecraft performance, and crew operations during the mission.
Launch is targeted for as soon as April 1st, with an early April launch window extending through April 6th. There’s another launch opportunity on April 30th.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2026 Cox Media Group
