Artemis II astronauts arrive in Florida to prepare for moon launch

The Artemis II crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center to begin final preparations ahead of a scheduled April 1 launch that would send them on a nearly 700,000-mile trip around the moon and back. Countdown clocks are expected to start Monday, with the crew able to launch through April 6 before conditions would force a delay.

The Artemis II astronauts have arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin final preparations for a scheduled April 1 launch that would send them on a nearly 700,000-mile voyage around the moon and back. The crew — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — flew from the Johnson Space Center to the spaceport. Countdown clocks are expected to begin Monday afternoon, setting up a two-hour launch window on April 1 and a final opportunity to launch through April 6 before conditions require a delay. The mission follows earlier delays this year after hydrogen leaks and a pressurization problem in the rocket's upper stage that required the vehicle to be returned to the Vehicle Assembly Building for inspection and repair. Key facts: - The crew touched down at Kennedy Space Center after flying from Houston aboard T-38 jets, and they will carry out prelaunch activities at the pad and nearby facilities. - Countdown clocks are expected to start at 4:44 p.m. EDT Monday, and the first launch attempt window is scheduled to open at 6:24 p.m. on April 1. - Earlier delays were linked to hydrogen leaks during fueling and an out-of-place seal affecting upper-stage pressurization; engineers returned the rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building, traced the issue, recharged batteries, and returned the vehicle to the pad. - This will be the second flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the first mission to carry a crew; the Orion crew ship will also be making its first crewed flight. - Before departing Earth orbit, the crew will spend a full 24-hour orbit testing Orion's environmental control and life support systems and other critical components. - The flight includes a small plush named "Rise" as a zero-gravity indicator carrying a card with nearly six million names from NASA's "send your name around the moon" campaign; if all goes well, Orion would pass within about 4,100 miles of the moon on April 6 and target a Pacific Ocean splashdown near San Diego on April 10. Summary: The crew's arrival begins the final phase of prelaunch checks for Artemis II, which would be the first crewed departure from Earth orbit since Apollo and will test Orion's life-support systems during a 24-hour Earth orbit. Engineers and mission teams will continue system checks and countdown activities through the opening of the launch window; if launch is not possible by April 6, the mission will be delayed by about four weeks.