WATCH LIVE: NASA Begins Countdown for Second Artemis II Wet Dress Rehearsal Fueling Test
By Space Coast Daily // February 19, 2026
Coverage can be seen on Space Coast Daily TV
WATCH LIVE: NASA Begins Countdown for Second Artemis II Wet Dress Rehearsal Fueling Test
BREVARD COUNTY • KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLORIDA – NASA has started the countdown for a second wet dress rehearsal for its Artemis II moon mission, a critical practice run leading up to the planned launch that will send astronauts on a journey around the Moon — the first such crewed flight in more than 50 years.
NASA will have a practice countdown at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The wet dress rehearsal — taking place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida — is designed to simulate key prelaunch procedures as closely as possible without actually launching the rocket.
As part of the test, engineers power up systems on the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft, fully load the rocket with more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants (liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen), and run through a countdown sequence that mimics launch day.
This second run follows an earlier attempt that was cut short when a liquid hydrogen leak surfaced during fueling, prompting NASA to halt the first rehearsal and make hardware adjustments before trying again.
During the current wet dress rehearsal, teams will work through the nearly 50-hour countdown, conducting engine chilldown and propellant filling and performing simulated countdown holds and procedures that would occur just before launch. Engineers will carefully monitor tank pressures, valve performance and other systems — all to ensure that they fully understand how the rocket responds under realistic launch-day conditions.
If this rehearsal proceeds successfully, NASA could set a new launch target in early March for Artemis II, though no official liftoff date has been confirmed yet.
The Artemis II mission will carry four astronauts — three from NASA and one from the Canadian Space Agency — on a roughly 10-day trip around the Moon and back.
