NASA is livestreaming the Artemis II SLS rocket at Launch Complex 39B so the public can watch pad testing in real time. The mission, slated no earlier than Feb. 6, will carry Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day crewed lunar flyby to validate SLS and Orion. Crewmembers entered quarantine on Jan. 23 as teams prepare a wet dress rehearsal fueling test targeted for Feb. 2. Backup launch windows run through April, and NASA says safety will govern any go/no-go decision.
Watch Artemis II: 24/7 Livestream Shows NASA’s Moon Rocket On The Pad Ahead Of Feb. 6 Launch Window
This still from NASA's livestream shows the Artemis 2 rocket and Orion capsule on the pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. | Credit: NASA
NASA's next crewed Moon mission, Artemis II, is parked at Launch Complex 39B and available to watch around the clock via a 24/7 livestream. The feed shows the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and its Orion spacecraft as teams complete pad checkouts and prepare for a critical fueling test.
Where to Watch: The continuous stream is available on YouTube and through NASA's official viewer. The rocket is usually visible day and night, though coastal fog from the nearby Atlantic Ocean can occasionally obscure the cameras.
Mission Timeline and Crew
Artemis II is scheduled to launch from Florida's Space Coast no earlier than Feb. 6. The four-person crew includes commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen. If the flight proceeds as planned, Glover will be the first Black astronaut to travel beyond low Earth orbit, Koch will be the first woman to do so, and Hansen will be the first Canadian on a crewed mission beyond Earth orbit.
Preparation and Key Tests
The astronauts entered quarantine on Jan. 23, a routine precaution about two weeks before a planned launch. SLS completed a roughly 12-hour rollout to Launch Pad 39B on Jan. 17 and is now undergoing a sequence of pad checkouts. The most important upcoming test is the "wet dress rehearsal," during which ground teams fuel the rocket and practice countdown procedures end-to-end. NASA aims to conduct that fueling test on Feb. 2, four days before the planned liftoff.
Artemis I, the uncrewed predecessor mission, required multiple wet dress rehearsal attempts over several months before it cleared this stage and successfully sent Orion to lunar orbit and back in late 2022. At a Jan. 17 press briefing, Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said the team has made procedural and hardware updates since Artemis I to improve the wet dress rehearsal campaign.
What Artemis II Will Do
Artemis II is planned as a 10-day crewed lunar flyby mission to validate the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft with astronauts aboard. The crew will spend roughly a day in Earth orbit checking spacecraft systems before performing the trans-lunar injection that sends them around the Moon and back. The mission helps pave the way for Artemis III, a future mission currently targeted to attempt a crewed lunar landing in 2027 or 2028.
Contingencies and Safety
If Artemis II cannot launch on the Feb. 6 target date, NASA has backup windows in February, March and April. Agency officials emphasize that crew safety and system readiness will determine the launch decision, not schedule pressure.
Watch live: Tune to NASA's YouTube channel or the agency's official viewer to follow Artemis II on the pad in real time.
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