Four astronauts in training to fly around the moon early next year strapped into their Orion spacecraft this weekend for a dress rehearsal countdown in a major milestone toward launch.Based on repeated stops and starts seen on NASA’s countdown clock, the complex test originally planned for late November, ran into problems at various points on Saturday. NASA provided no details, but Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman said that overall, the test went well.The Artemis 2 astronauts head for their Space Launch System rocket Saturday for a practice countdown to rehearse launch day procedures before a flight around the moon early next year. Left to right: Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA crewmates Christina Koch, Victor Glover and mission commander Reid Wiseman. / Credit: NASA”Extremely successful day in our spacecraft #Integrity,” Wiseman said in a post on X. “Did everything go perfectly? Absolutely not. But this vehicle and our team showed us they’re up to the challenge. Launch is getting very close.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLaunch is tentatively targeted for early February, but the schedule is extremely tight and the flight may slip to early March. No decisions are expected until after the first of next year.In any case, Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, wearing bright orange pressure suits, strapped into their Orion capsule using the same procedures they’ll follow on launch day.Such “countdown demonstration tests” have traditionally taken place shortly before launch with the rocket and crew ship already on the launch pad. But for Saturday’s test, the astronauts boarded their spacecraft atop NASA’s huge Space Launch System (SLS) rocket inside the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center.The Artemis 2 Orion crew capsule, inside a protective launch shroud, and its escape rocket are visible amid service platforms inside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center. Unseen is the 322-foot-tall Space Launch System rocket the crew capsule is mounted atop. The Artemis 2 crew strapped into the Orion Saturday f …
