You don’t want to miss this historic moment.
NASA’s Artemis 2 Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft are seen at sunset at Launch Complex 39B, Friday, March 27, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in FloridaThe wait is finally over. NASA’s Artemis 2 mission is set to launch four astronauts on a trip around the Moon, bringing an end to America’s decades-long hiatus from crewed lunar spaceflight.
the two-day countdown at 4:44 p.m. ET on Monday after reporting no major technical or weather concerns ahead of lift-off. Ground teams are in the midst of final preparations, targeting a launch window that willAt T-0, Artemis 2 will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Space Launch System rocket will propel the Orion spacecraft and its crew—consisting of NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen—to low-Earth orbit. You can watch the launch right here via any of the livestreams below. NASA’s launch coverage will begin at 12:50 p.m. EDT on Wednesday. You can also find a minute-by-minute rundown of the countdown proceedingsFollowing a key meeting on Monday, NASA declared the mission go for launch on Wednesday. During a press briefing, Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya“We are in excellent, excellent shape as we get into count,” Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, said during the briefing. This was welcome news. NASA initially hoped Artemis 2 would get off the ground during the February launch window, but SLSWith these issues now fixed, engineers are confident SLS will perform as expected on Wednesday. However, there’s still a chance that unforeseen technical problems or weather conditions could delay the launch. If that happens, the next launch opportunity opens at 7:22 p.m. ET on Thursday.When Artemis 2 lifts off, it will be the first time astronauts have departed for the Moon in over 50 years. “If you were born after 19:45:58 UTC on December 19, 1972, you have not been alive during a time when a crewed lunar spaceflight was underway. This is approximately 75% of the global population,” John Kraus, special communications assistant to the administrator at NASA,This graphic shows the time, speed, and altitude of key events from launch of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and ascent to space, through Orion’s perigee raise burn during the Artemis II test flight. © NASA Once SLS and Orion are in LEO, Orion and the interim cryogenic propulsion stage will separate from the rest of the rocket. Roughly 49 minutes after launch, the ICPS engine will fire to raise the perigee—or the lowest point of Orion’s orbit—to an altitude of 100 miles above Earth. When the spacecraft reaches that perigee an hour later, the ICPS will fire again to raise Orion into a high-Earth orbit. The crew will then spend the next 23 hours checking the spacecraft’s systems and preparing for their journey to the Moon. If everything goes according to plan, Orion will initiate a translunar injection burn about 25 hours after launch. This will send the spacecraft to the Moon. Orion will enter the lunar sphere of influence on the fifth day of flight, then make its closest approach to the Moon on the sixth day. The Artemis 2 crew willThe 10-day mission will be the first crewed test flight of SLS and Orion, paving the way for a lunar landing slated for 2028. NASA will provide plenty of updates over the course of the flight, and you can track the mission in real-timeASUS Eye Care Monitor Hits an All-Time Low, Only Hours Left to Grab a 27″ Screen at a 15.6″ Budget Price on AmazonAmazon Makes a Last Push for Govee LED Strip Light at a Black Friday Low as the Spring Sale Winds Down, Works with Alexa and Google AssistantForget Shokz, Anker Pushes Soundcore AeroClip Open-Ear Earbuds to an All-Time Low in the Final Hours of Amazon’s Spring SaleSamsung Bespoke AI Refrigerator Wants to Take the Stress Out of the KitchenArtemis 2 by the Numbers: Breaking Down NASA’s Big Return to the MoonAn X-class solar flare and coronal mass ejection threaten to interfere with the most anticipated space launch in over 50 years.
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