NASA has powered the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and is ready to fuel it for the wet dress rehearsal for Artemis II Moon mission today. The countdown for the rehearsal at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, began at 6:43 am IST [8:13 pm ET] On February 1, at L-49 hours, and it will end at approximately 11:30 a.m. IST [1 am EST] on February 3.
The wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis II mission around the Moon began at 8:13pm ET on Jan. 31 and will continue tomorrow with @NASAKennedy teams fueling the rocket.
The results from this test will help inform teams about a possible launch date. https://t.co/8wBtyGUeh6 pic.twitter.com/FVCmtlErU9
— NASA (@NASA) February 2, 2026
During the wet dress rehearsal, the SLS rocket‘s core stage will be loaded with more than 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Apart from tanking operations, mission teams will conduct a full countdown simulating launch day before draining the propellant.
As the launch date (potentially February 8) nears, teams are testing critical components of the rocket and the Orion spacecraft mounted atop it. NASA says the results from this test will help the teams finalise a launch date.
The test began with the powering of the SLS rocket’s core stage and the interim cryogenic propulsion stage as well the Orion spacecraft. In a statement, NASA said that Orion has remained powered over the last several days due to cold temperatures in Florida.
“Engineers are preparing to charge Orion’s flight batteries and soon will begin core stage battery charge,” the agency had stated.
How to watch the wet dress rehearsal live?
NASA is currently running a 24×7 livestream of the SLS rocket at the launch pad on YouTube and a separate feed is scheduled at 9:20 pm IST [11:50 am EST] for tanking operations.
Artemis II astronauts in quarantine
The Artemis II astronauts – both primary and backup – are under mandatory pre-flight quarantine at the Johnson Space Center in Houston since January 23. Reid Wiseman (mission commander), Victor Glover (mission pilot), Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist) and Christina Koch (mission specialist) are following the standard NASA protocol to minimise exposure to germs and infections that could make a crew member sick before launch.
Apart from these four, backup astronauts Andre Douglas and Jenni Gibbons are also under quarantine. In case one or two primary astronauts fall ill, either of them or both would fill in for them. Until launch day, all of them will wear masks, avoid public areas and maintain social distance, contacting mission teams and their family members only through virtual means.
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