31.01.2026
For the first time in more than 60 years, NASA has two human spaceflight crews waiting in quarantine at the same time ahead of launch: the four Artemis II astronauts and the SpaceX Crew-12 quartet.
But with a rare Arctic blast hitting Central Florida, a key question remains unanswered: When will the crews launch from Cape Canaveral?
Stay tuned. In light of frigid incoming weekend temperatures, NASA officials postponed a wet dress rehearsal for the mighty moon-bound Artemis II Space Launch System rocket at pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center. Now, the rehearsal exercise is slated for Monday, with the earliest possible launch opportunity available Feb. 8.
On Jan. 17, the giant SLS rocket rolled out of NASA's VAB for pre-launch testing ahead of the Artemis II moon mission.
“If you are familiar with our work, you’ll hear the saying, ‘We like to test like we fly.’ And frankly, the conditions for this weekend were something we would never launch in,” NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails told a SpaceCom ballroom audience Friday, Jan. 30, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.
“So that was the decision for the shift. Because of that, we have actually had to pull Feb. 6 and 7 off the table for viable launch opportunities,” Swails said.
Crew-12 awaiting launch to International Space Station
Meanwhile, Crew-12 may launch as early as 6 a.m. Feb. 11 on its separate mission to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 40 at adjacent Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. After Feb. 8, the next Artemis II launch opportunities are Feb. 10 and 11 before a multi-week "down period" until the dates of March 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11.
During a Friday news conference, Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, outlined possible launch timing scenarios for the Artemis II and Crew-12 astronauts:
- If the SLS undergoes a successful wet dress rehearsal and launches on Feb. 8, the Artemis II astronauts will embark on a roughly 10-day mission around the moon before reentering Earth's atmosphere for splashdown. Crew-12 would not launch until Feb. 19 at the earliest, after the Artemis II crew safely returned home.
- If the SLS encounters any issues during launch countdown that trigger further delay, Crew-12 could launch on Feb. 13 or 14.
"I would say those timelines will be a little dynamic. Because in particular, if we get out to the (Crew-12) launch pad and we're trying to static-fire around Artemis operations, we will work around Artemis in all those scenarios. So, it depends," Stich said.
NASA is accelerating the Crew-12 launch to bolster ISS staffing after Crew-11 returned home early Jan. 15. An unidentified crew member experienced a medical issue, and the crew executed NASA's first medical evacuation in the orbiting laboratory's 25-year history of human habitation.
Crew-12 will launch to the ISS aboard SpaceX's Dragon Freedom spacecraft — which will embark on its fifth flight — on an eight-month mission. Stich said Freedom and its SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket should roll to the pad about Feb. 7.
Artemis II is a test flight: NASA
During her conference remarks, Swails said the Artemis II astronauts will be able to see the entire lunar disc, which no human has laid eyes on before. The mission will mark the furthest people have ventured into deep space, and the crew will view visual nuances and changing lighting conditions on the far side of the moon.
“They’ll observe in just a few hours what it would take a spacecraft years to do. So what we learn on this mission, again, will prepare us for going down to the surface on Artemis III,” she said.
Swails reminded the crowd that Artemis II is a test flight.
"I think that’s really important, because Artemis II is all about reducing risk. It’s all about increasing confidence and getting ready for the missions that are going to follow it. So this is really our opportunity to test out Orion with crew on board,” she said.
For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space. Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly 321 Launch space newsletter.
Quelle: Florida Today