NASA’s plan to send astronauts back around the Moon has collided with an obstacle few associate with Cape Canaveral: winter cold. A rare arctic outbreak sweeping through Florida has forced the space agency to reshuffle a tightly choreographed launch sequence for Artemis II, delaying a critical prelaunch test and compressing an already narrow February launch window.
The disruption centers on the wet dress rehearsal, a full-scale fueling and countdown simulation for the Space Launch System rocket. Originally scheduled for Saturday, January 31, 2026, the test has been pushed back to Monday, February 2, after engineers concluded that the combination of low temperatures and high winds would violate safety limits. As a result, NASA says the earliest possible Artemis II launch is now Sunday, February 8, pending the outcome of the rehearsal.
In an update issued Friday, the agency said managers had reassessed hardware limits against the forecast linked to what it described as a “rare arctic outbreak” affecting the state. Preparations at the launch pad, NASA added, remain otherwise on track.
A pivotal test under pressure
The wet dress rehearsal is not a formality. During the exercise, teams load the SLS rocket with more than 700,000 gallons of supercooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, run through the launch countdown, and then practice safely draining the propellants — all without astronauts aboard. According to NASA, the procedure rehearses operations down to roughly 30 seconds before liftoff and is essential before any launch attempt.
CBS News reported that on Monday engineers will begin fueling operations around 11 a.m., pumping more than 750,000 gallons of propellant into the rocket. The simulated launch window is set to open at 9 p.m. that evening. Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said her team plans to deliberately run through multiple “recycle” scenarios, rehearsing how to respond to unexpected issues — an approach shaped by hard lessons from Artemis I in 2022, when several attempts were needed to resolve leaks and other technical problems.
Blackwell-Thompson noted that Artemis I served as a learning campaign, influencing how teams now handle liquid oxygen and hydrogen loading. Artemis II uses the second hardware build of the SLS core stage, and she cautioned that its performance during the rehearsal will ultimately determine readiness.
Weather is a non-negotiable factor. NASA rules prohibit launch activities when temperatures approach freezing, and Houston Public Media reported that the expected conditions this weekend would have crossed those thresholds. NASA said adjusting the schedule was necessary to “position the agency for success” during the rehearsal.
Ripple effects across NASA’s launch calendar
The Artemis II delay is already affecting other missions. NASA is preparing to launch Crew-12 to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. That mission includes commander Jessica Meir, pilot Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and cosmonaut Andrey Fedaev, and could lift off as early as February 11, 2026.
If Artemis II launches on February 8, Crew-12 would likely slip to around February 19. A launch on February 10 or 11 would push Crew-12 back by roughly 11 days, while a more significant Artemis delay into March could allow Crew-12 to fly as early as February 13. Dina Contella, the ISS program’s deputy director, said overlapping preparations are manageable, noting that teams in Mission Control work closely and in parallel when schedules collide.
Artemis II itself remains the centerpiece. The mission will carry four astronauts — Commander Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on a lunar flyby. They have been in quarantine in Houston since January 23, 2026, awaiting clearance to travel to Kennedy Space Center. Their flight would be the first crewed journey around the Moon since Apollo, 54 years ago.
NASA currently has three February launch opportunities for Artemis II: February 8, 10, and 11. Missing those would push the mission to the next window in March or later. Engineers are eager to validate upgrades made after Artemis I, particularly changes intended to prevent leaks during fueling.
For now, the countdown clock has paused, not because of hardware or human error, but because of an unseasonable chill. Whether Artemis II can still fly in February will depend on how the rocket performs Monday — and on whether Florida’s winter loosens its grip in time for NASA’s next giant step toward the Moon.
