NASA’s Artemis II mission, poised to send astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than half a century, reached a pivotal milestone on Thursday, February 19, 2026. Engineers at Kennedy Space Center completed a critical fueling test—known as a wet dress rehearsal—on the towering 322-foot Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The success of this test could determine whether the historic crewed lunar flyby launches as early as March 6, 2026, marking a major leap forward for American space exploration.
After months of anticipation and technical hurdles, Thursday’s rehearsal was a make-or-break moment for the Artemis II mission. According to The Associated Press, more than 700,000 gallons (2.6 million liters) of supercold fuel were pumped into the SLS rocket atop Launch Complex 39B. The process, which started on Tuesday and spanned nearly 50 hours, culminated in a simulated countdown that brought the clock to T-minus 29 seconds—just shy of actual ignition.
NASA reported minimal hydrogen leakage during the test, well within safety limits, a significant relief for engineers and mission planners. This was a stark contrast to earlier attempts, including a dress rehearsal in early February that was halted by a persistent hydrogen leak. That setback forced teams to replace two seals and a clogged filter—a painstaking but necessary fix, as hydrogen leaks have dogged NASA since the space shuttle era. The Artemis I mission in 2022, for example, was grounded for months by similar issues before finally launching uncrewed in November of that year.
“Following successful chilldown of the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen lines, teams have started slowly filling the SLS rocket’s core stage with super-cold liquid hydrogen, chilled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit, then with liquid oxygen chilled to minus 297 degrees. This marks the official start of propellant loading for the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal,” NASA stated Thursday morning in a live blog, as reported by News 13 Orlando.
But the rehearsal was about more than just filling the tanks. Engineers also practiced recycling the countdown clock and rehearsed a scrub procedure, ensuring they could safely drain the rocket if something went awry on launch day. According to WWSB, these steps are vital for verifying both the rocket’s readiness and the launch team’s ability to handle last-minute surprises—a lesson NASA has learned the hard way over decades of spaceflight.
The Artemis II crew—Commander Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—have been training for nearly three years for this mission. As GeekWire reported, the four astronauts are preparing to enter a two-week quarantine starting Friday, February 20, 2026, a standard precaution to protect their health ahead of the planned launch. Three of the crew members joined the launch team on Thursday to monitor the rehearsal’s progress, underscoring the high stakes and close collaboration required for such a complex endeavor.
Thursday’s successful rehearsal comes after a string of technical challenges. During the first wet dress rehearsal on February 2, a hydrogen leak was detected at the same interface that caused problems during Artemis I. NASA’s technicians responded by replacing two seals and, after a partial fueling test on February 12 revealed restricted hydrogen flow, swapped out a ground support equipment filter. These fixes, along with Thursday’s clean test, have given engineers renewed confidence in the rocket’s readiness.
NASA’s new administrator, Jared Isaacman, who took the helm just two months ago, has made safety his top priority. “We will not launch unless we are ready and the safety of our astronauts will remain the highest priority,” Isaacman said last week on X, according to The Associated Press. He reiterated this stance midway through Thursday’s test, especially as he released a critical report on Boeing’s Starliner capsule program, which left two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station for months. “The crisis could have resulted in a loss of crew,” Isaacman stated, placing blame squarely on both Boeing and NASA leadership.
Looking ahead, Isaacman has promised to redesign the fuel connections between the SLS rocket and the launch pad before the next Artemis III mission, which aims to land astronauts near the moon’s south pole. That mission, still a few years away and officially set for no earlier than mid-2027, will build on the lessons learned from Artemis II. Industry experts, however, caution that the timeline could slip, given the complexity and scale of the program.
Artemis II’s flight plan is ambitious: a 10-day, out-and-back journey that will take the crew on a figure-8 route around the moon, swinging as far as 4,600 miles beyond the lunar far side—farther than any human has ever traveled from Earth. While the mission won’t include an orbit or landing, it’s a crucial step toward returning humans to the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Several companies, particularly in the Seattle area, are deeply invested in the Artemis program. L3Harris, formerly Aerojet Rocketdyne, builds thrusters for the Orion spacecraft in Redmond, Washington. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, based in Kent, is developing the Blue Moon lander, which could ferry Artemis crews to the lunar surface as soon as 2030. Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is also slated to send an uncrewed cargo version of its lander to the moon in the coming months, according to GeekWire.
The renewed momentum around the Artemis program has captured the imagination of space enthusiasts and the broader public alike. After decades of focusing on low-Earth orbit, NASA’s push to return to the moon signals a new era of exploration, with international partners and commercial companies playing increasingly prominent roles. The Artemis II mission, if launched on schedule, will not only mark a technological triumph but also serve as a powerful symbol of American ingenuity and perseverance.
With Thursday’s successful wet dress rehearsal, the countdown to humanity’s return to the moon is closer than it has been in generations. All eyes are now on Kennedy Space Center, where the Artemis II crew—and the world—await a final “go” for launch.