Artemis II targets early-April launch window for crewed lunar test flight

NASA set out Artemis II’s final launch preparations on 25 March 2026. The first two-hour window opened at 6:24 p.m. EDT on 1 April, with further opportunities through 6 April. Window opening is not actual liftoff. Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen would undertake an approximately ten-day lunar flyby test, including Orion life-support validation with people aboard. Ground preparations and a staged flight sequence were prospective. High-Earth-orbit insertion is distinct from later translunar flight and does not imply a landing. The final plan remains separate from actual launch, manoeuvres, flyby and recovery. Broadcast starts and an older rehearsal photograph are not used to invent operational facts.