NASA teams at Kennedy Space Center in Florida spent Tuesday wrapping up final preparations for the Artemis II launch, which remained scheduled for no earlier than 6:24 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 1, NASA said.
The agency said there was an 80% chance of favorable weather at liftoff. Officials were keeping watch on possible concerns including cumulus clouds, ground winds and solar weather as NASA and U.S. Space Force weather teams continued tracking conditions ahead of launch.
Engineers also finished health checks on the rocket’s four RS-25 engines, with NASA saying sensors, connections and diagnostics were all working as expected. NASA said that was an important step as teams continued preparing for fueling.
The agency said the SLS upper stage, known as the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, was placed in a safe, stable configuration after earlier power-up and verification work.
Teams also fully charged Orion’s flight batteries to support avionics, life support and communications during launch and early flight, while charging began on the rocket’s core stage batteries.
With launch approaching, teams also checked systems tied to the crew. Engineers carried out regulator leak checks on the astronauts’ pressure suits inside Orion to confirm airtight seals and pressure control systems in the event of cabin depressurization, NASA said.
At Launch Complex 39B, crews were expected to move the pad into its final configuration Tuesday night, with non-essential personnel leaving the area before fueling operations.
Early Wednesday, teams planned to activate the ground launch sequencer, the automated system that controls thousands of commands in the final minutes before liftoff, and begin switching the rocket’s cavities from air to gaseous nitrogen as part of final safety steps
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