After a day in earth orbit checking out systems on the Orion capsule, the Artemis II crew is headed to the Moon. Earlier today the Mission Management Team gave them permission to proceed to the next step, the Trans-Lunar Injection or TLI burn. They fired the Service Module’s main engine at 7:49 pm EDT (23:49 UTC) and are on their way to go around the Moon, the first humans to travel that far from Earth since the Apollo era.
All the hard work to get the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft ready to send four people around the Moon for the first time in 53 years paid off today. The few technical hiccups that arose during the countdown were quickly resolved. Liftoff was at 6:35:12 pm ET, just a few minutes past the opening of the two-hour launch window.
It may be April Fool’s Day to some, but to NASA it’s launch day to send humans around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. As of noon ET, everything is going according to plan and the weather outlook remains 80 percent favorable. The 2-hour launch window today opens at 6:24 pm ET.
Just over a day from now, four astronauts may well be on their way to the Moon. Weather continues to be 80 percent favorable for launch at 6:24 pm ET on April 1 from Kennedy Space Center, FL, the opening of a two-hour launch window. No technical issues are being worked. If all goes as planned, three NASA astronauts and one from Canada will be the first humans to travel around the Moon since the Apollo era.
The Artemis II crew, rocket, and spacecraft are ready for liftoff on Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at 6:24 pm ET. No technical issues are currently being worked, with weather the only potential constraint and even that is 80 percent favorable. Sending four human beings to the distance of the Moon for the first time since 1972 seems close at hand.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of March 29-April 4, 2026 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess this week except for pro forma sessions.
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is sharing more about the medical event that caused an early end to the Crew-11 mission aboard the International Space Station. In an interview with the Associated Press, he said it happened with no warning and passed quickly, but doctors still do not understand the cause.
The four astronauts who will fly around the Moon as soon as next week and their backups arrived at Kennedy Space Center this afternoon. Full of enthusiasm, they also conveyed that they know weather or other factors could delay the launch, but whenever it happens, they are ready.
NASA continues to plan for the launch of the first crewed mission around the Moon in more than 50 years one week from today. Weather or technical issues could still delay the launch, but the agency is gearing up for launch on April 1 with a series of events beginning Friday. The crew of three Americans and one Canadian will spend 10 days in space traveling further from Earth than anyone since the Apollo era.
Companies developing commercial space stations to replace the International Space Station are not pleased with NASA’s latest proposal to change the plan. At a House hearing today, the head of the Commercial Space Federation trade association said his members want to “stick with the plan” and not make changes that are “sowing confusion.”