NASA begins the countdown and preparations for the Artemis II mission, and the launch, postponed due to bad weather, is now scheduled for February 8.

The countdown for the general rehearsal of the Artemis II mission has begun at NASA, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The test will simulate all stages of a real launch, including fueling the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion capsule, conducting the countdown, and managing delay situations. The mission will carry astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen around the Moon. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, NASA has announced the postponement of the initial launch, with the first launch window now scheduled for February 8, instead of February 6. NASA is considering 14 launch windows between February 8 and April 30, and the Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station could be affected by this schedule. The final test will determine the official launch date.