{"id":46811,"date":"2026-02-20T13:02:39","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T13:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bondahx.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/20\/nasa-completes-smooth-rehearsal-for-artemis-2-moon-launch-geekwire\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T13:02:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T13:02:39","slug":"nasa-completes-smooth-rehearsal-for-artemis-2-moon-launch-geekwire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bondahx.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/20\/nasa-completes-smooth-rehearsal-for-artemis-2-moon-launch-geekwire\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA completes smooth rehearsal for Artemis 2 moon launch \u2013 GeekWire"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

by Alan Boyle<\/a><\/strong><\/span> on

\n
\"\"
NASA\u2019s Space Launch System rocket stands on its Florida launch pad. (NASA Photo \/ Aubrey Gemignani)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA counted down to T-minus 29 seconds tonight during a rehearsal for a historic launch that could send astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than half a century.<\/p>\n

The run-through at Launch Complex 39B, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, was known as a wet dress rehearsal because it involved filling up the propellant tanks on NASA\u2019s Space Launch System \u2014 a 322-foot-tall rocket that made its debut during 2022\u2019s uncrewed Artemis 1 mission<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The only major component that was missing at the launch pad was the crew. NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, the commander for the Artemis 2 mission,\u00a0said in a posting to X<\/a>\u00a0that he was watching the proceedings from Launch Control.<\/p>\n

Once NASA reviews the results of the two-day rehearsal, mission managers will decide whether to green-light the Artemis 2 crew\u2019s 10-day trip around the moon and back. NASA says liftoff could come as early as March 6.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s simulated countdown provides an opportunity for NASA to check out the Space Launch System rocket, the Orion crew capsule and ground support systems in advance of the actual launch.<\/p>\n

An initial rehearsal on Feb. 2 was\u00a0stopped at roughly T-minus 5 minutes<\/a>\u00a0due to a liquid hydrogen leak. Engineers made repairs at the pad to clear the way for a replay of the rehearsal.<\/p>\n

NASA had to pause this evening\u2019s first countdown in its final minutes to deal with what it called a \u201cbooster avionics system voltage anomaly,\u201d but the count resumed and proceeded as planned to T-minus 33 seconds. At that point the countdown was automatically paused and recycled to T-minus 10 minutes.<\/p>\n

It took more than an hour to reconfigure the rocket\u2019s fueling system for another terminal count. Then NASA\u2019s launch team went through an even smoother second countdown, reached a scheduled stopping point at T-minus 29 seconds, and then concluded the rehearsal. A news briefing about the test is set for 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT) on Friday.<\/p>\n

\n

\n