Watch the Launch

Watch the Launch

Additional Media

NASA’s Artemis II Crew Launches to the Moon (Official Broadcast)

Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed mission under the Artemis program and will launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor […]

Artemis II: ’s First Crewed Lunar Flyby in 50 Years

Meet the Artemis II crew and learn how NASA’s 10-day lunar flyby mission will test deep space systems and pave the way for future Moon landings.

Artemis II

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Lunar flyby
Mission: Human Exploration

Lunar flyby Launch Complex 39B Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA Probability: 90%

Artemis II is the first crewed mission as part of the Artemis program. Artemis II will send a crew of 4 - 3 Americans and 1 Canadian around the moon and return them back to Earth. The mission will test the core systems of NASA's Orion spacecraft including the critical life support system, among other systems which could not be tested during Artemis I due to the lack of crew onboard.

Telemetry

Launch trajectory and telemetry simulations provided by Flight Club - a rocket launch simulator and orbital trajectory visualiser for all things space!

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • April 2, 2026, 2:01 a.m.

Launch success with Orion separation.


Cosmic_Penguin • April 1, 2026, 10:49 p.m.

Liftoff.


Cosmic_Penguin • April 1, 2026, 10:25 p.m.

New T-0.


Cosmic_Penguin • April 1, 2026, 10:15 p.m.

Extending hold at T-10 minutes.


Cosmic_Penguin • April 1, 2026, 9:33 p.m.

Updated launch weather.


Space Launch System (SLS)

Family:
Configuration: Block 1

The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American Space Shuttle-derived heavy expendable launch vehicle. It is part of NASA's deep space exploration plans including as the main launch vehicle of the Artemis program. SLS follows the cancellation of the Constellation program, and is to replace the retired Space Shuttle.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    98.0 m
  • Diameter
    8.4 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    8.4 m
  • Launch Mass
    2628.0 T
  • Thrust
    39000.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Space Launch System (SLS)
  • Family
    ―
  • Variant
    Block 1
  • Alias
    ―
  • Full Name
    Space Launch System Block 1
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $2000000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    95000.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    ―
  • Direct Geostationary
    ―
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    ―

Orion Integrity


Active Human Rated Crew On-board: 4 Crew Capacity: 4 Payload Capacity: 100 kg
Destination: Circumlunar flyby
Serial Number: 003

Orion spacecraft used for Artemis 2.

Orion Details

Crew


Gregory R. Wiseman

Spacecraft Commander - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Nov. 11, 1975
Age: 50

Victor J. Glover

Pilot - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: April 30, 1976
Age: 50

Jeremy Hansen

Mission Specialist - configurations.Country.None - ( CSA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Jan. 27, 1976
Age: 50

Christina Koch

Mission Specialist - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Jan. 29, 1979
Age: 47

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA)

Administrator: Jared Isaacman Founded: 1958 Successes: 122 Failures: 20 Pending: 5

Agency Type:

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

INFO WIKI
NASA

Artemis II Heat Shield After Splashdown

Shortly after NASA’s Artemis II mission splashed down on April 10, 2026, U.S. Navy divers captured underwater imagery of the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield. In the months after, the agency measured whether the thermal protection system eff…

NASA

Rigorous Analysis Confirms NASA’s Artemis II Heat Shield Performance

NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts around the Moon and brought them safely back to Earth, laying a foundation for crewed flights to the Moon’s surface. Additional engineering data analysis of the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield …

NASA

Artemis II Crew Moon Photo Annotations

A visualization of a dark Moon eclipsing the Sun is marked with handwritten notes in this April 6, 2026, screenshot from an Artemis II crew member’s tablet. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (in blue) and Victor “Ike” Glover (in green) and CSA …

NASA

Meet NASA’s Artemis II Crew During Houston Public Event

The four astronauts of NASA’s Artemis II mission will participate in an event hosted by industry and community partners at the University of Houston to discuss their mission around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft. It will be the first…

NASA

NASA Names Two Artemis II Astronauts to Emeritus Program

Following their landmark Artemis II mission earlier this year, distinguished NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman are transitioning in September to emeritus status at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. In an emeritus r…

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Launch Complex 39B


Long March 12
In Flight
1 hour, 43 minutes ago
SatNet LEO Group TBD?
Commercial LC-2 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Success
1 day, 8 hours ago
Glonass-K1? (Kosmos 2621?)
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity uncertain. Glonass-K are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite navigation system. GLONASS is a Rus…


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 21 hours ago
USSF-432
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite bu…


Ceres-2
Success
1 day, 22 hours ago
4 satellites
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Share-ride of 4 commercial Earth observation and technology demonstration satellites to SSO, details TBD.


Long March 2C
Success
3 days, 6 hours ago
Yaogan 51-07 to 09
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.


Kinetica 2
Success
5 days, 21 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #17
Launch Area 140 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

18 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…


Electron
Success
6 days, 5 hours ago
The Sea God Surveys (iQPS Launch 9)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Starlink Group 15-18
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


GSLV Mk II
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
IRNSS-1L (NVS-03)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

This is a replacement satellite for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. The constellation will provide India with an alternative to GPS …


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
Starlink Group 15-16
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.