Artemis 2 Delayed

Image Credit:  Michael Seeley

Kennedy Space Center, FL. – Delayed! Today, February 3, 2026 in a not so surprise, but one certainly not hoped for, it has been announced that a delay in the launch of the Artemis 2 will indeed take place. During the long anticipated WDR (Wet Dress Rehearsal) leaks occurred during the fueling and simulated countdown that the test was scrubbed for this first test.

Testing…..that’s why NASA will always test, then retest and test yet again. In the early morning hours of the first Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR), NASA stopped the countdown due to leaks of the highly volatile Hydrogen.

Artemis 1 Image Credit:  Jared Haworth - We Report Space

After extensive reviews and too many unknowns were causing concern, it was decided to err on the side of safety and delay the next earliest launch date to March 6, 2026. Disappointment…yes, but Hydrogen is one of the hardest gases and fluids to work with. Similar issues took place with Artemis 1.

Image Credit:  Michael Howard - We Report Space

In a statement from the NASA Administrator on “X”: “With the conclusion of the wet dress rehearsal today, we are moving off the February launch window and targeting March for the earliest possible launch of Artemis II. With more than three years between SLS launches, we fully anticipated encountering challenges. That is precisely why we conduct a wet dress rehearsal. These tests are designed to surface issues before flight and set up launch day with the highest probability of success. During the test, teams worked through a liquid hydrogen leak at a core stage interface during tanking, which required pauses to warm hardware and adjust propellant flow. All core stage and interim cryogenic propulsion stage tanks were successfully filled, and teams conducted a terminal countdown to about T-5 minutes before the ground launch sequencer halted operations due to an increased leak rate. Additional factors included extended Orion closeout work, intermittent ground audio dropouts, and cold-weather impacts to some cameras, along with the successful demonstration of updated Orion closeout purge procedures to support safe crew operations. As always, safety remains our top priority, for our astronauts, our workforce, our systems, and the public. As noted above, we will only launch when we believe we are as ready to undertake this historic mission. 

Image Credit:  Michael Howard - We Report Space

This is just the beginning. It marks the start of an Artemis program that will evolve to support repeated and affordable missions to the Moon….. I want to thank the talented workforce at NASA, along with our industry and international partners, who are working tirelessly on this effort. The team will fully review the data, troubleshoot each issue encountered during WDR, make the necessary repairs, and return to testing. We expect to conduct an additional wet dress rehearsal and then target the March window. We will continue to keep the public and the media informed as readiness progresses.”

Full Moon over Artemis Image Credit Michael Seeley

Story By:  Michael Howard

Image Credits:  Jared Haworth, Michael Howard and Graham Smith - We Report Space

Additional Credit:  Michael Seeley