NASA pushes back Artemis II ‘wet dress rehearsal’ due to Florida cold weather

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – NASA has changed the timeline for a critical test needed before the Artemis II rocket launch. 

The space agency announced Friday that it was moving the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal at Kennedy Space Center back because of extreme cold and windy conditions expected in Florida this weekend. 

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The wet dress rehearsal is now scheduled for Monday instead of Saturday. 

In a news release, NASA said its engineers had been monitoring the weather conditions for several days before making the change. 

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“Managers have assessed hardware capabilities against the projected forecast given the rare arctic outbreak affecting the state and decided to change the timeline,” NASA said in the release. 

The delay now means that the first potential launch opportunity for Artemis II is Feb. 8. 

What is Tanking Day?

The massive Artemis II rocket has been rolled out onto the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center. 

For the wet dress rehearsal, a critical test before the rocket can be launched, ground teams will fuel the rocket with a countdown to a simulated launch at 9 p.m. ET.  

If everything goes as planned, and everything checks out, NASA could set a launch date for the mission. 

NASA has very specific rules for weather conditions for the Artemis II test flight that account for lightning, hail, wind and cold weather. 

“Do not launch if the temperature at both 132.5 feet and 257.5 feet drops below a defined temperature constraint for 30 consecutive minutes,” according to the Artemis II weather guidelines on the NASA website. “The temperature constraints range from 38 degrees Fahrenheit to 49 degrees Fahrenheit, depending upon the wind and relative humidity. Higher wind and relative humidity result in a colder temperature constraint.”

What is the Artemis II mission?

The Artemis program is crucial for the return of humans to the moon. 

Artemis II will send a four-person crew on a 10-day trip around the moon. The mission will mark the first crewed flight beyond low Earth orbit in over 50 years. 

Who will be on Artemis II?

The Artemis II crew will include four astronauts: NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Clover; and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. 

The crew is quarantined at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

In its update Friday, NASA said the crew will remain in quarantine while managers assess the timeline for their arrival to Florida.