Artemis II could launch Feb 5, 2026, Artemis III may be delayed years

NASA said Friday that its next crewed lunar flight, Artemis II, could launch as early as Feb. 5, 2026, potentially moving the mission up by several months from earlier agency schedules, even as safety advisers warned that the follow-on Artemis III lunar landing may be delayed by years. The Artemis II flight would send four astronauts around the Moon and back on a roughly 10 day test mission using the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion crew capsule launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Artemis II is designed as a full-up test of life support systems, avionics, displays and other critical capabilities needed for future Moon landings. Lakiesha Hawkins, acting deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said during a mission update in Houston that the agency is monitoring available launch windows and that Feb. 5 is a potential opening, but emphasized that safety remains the top priority. “We together have a front row seat to history,” she said. Agency officials stressed there is no guarantee of a February liftoff and that additional prelaunch work remains, including mating the SLS rocket and Orion capsule and...