Artemis II crew declared ready
NASA says the Artemis II astronauts are ready for the agency’s first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years — a milestone that tightens schedules for SLS, Orion and booster suppliers. That readiness raises integration pressure across Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin as launch vehicle aerothermal and propulsion interfaces move toward final verification. (san.com) (meyka.com)
NASA completed the Artemis II Flight Readiness Review on March 12, 2026 and polled “go,” then targeted a rollout to Launch Complex 39B the week of March 19 and began the actual pad rollout around March 20. (nasa.gov)) NASA’s launch window for Artemis II opens April 1, 2026 and mission managers say the flight must launch by about April 6 or it would slip into the next monthly lunar opportunity. (en.wikipedia.org)) The Artemis II crew is Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist) and Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist, Canadian Space Agency), and the planned flight duration is roughly 10 days aboard the Orion spacecraft the crew named “Integrity.” (nasa.gov)) Boeing is the lead contractor on the SLS core stage, Northrop Grumman supplies the five‑segment solid rocket boosters, and Lockheed Martin is the prime for the Orion crew vehicle and its systems integration. (boeing.com)) All four RS‑25 core engines have been installed on the Artemis II SLS core stage at Michoud and recent full‑duration hot‑fire testing of new RS‑25 hardware has been completed under NASA/L3Harris programs to support certification. (nasa.gov)) Teams are conducting final interface verification testing (IVT) to validate SLS‑to‑Orion, SLS‑to‑ground and internal propulsion/avionics interfaces before launch processing, with IVT documented as a mission‑critical step in NASA and Boeing schedules. (nasa.gov)) Orion’s heat‑shield aerothermal behavior remains a focus after Artemis I findings; NASA teams completed investigations and are finishing Avcoat block bonding and non‑destructive evaluations on the flight heat shield ahead of final close‑outs. (americaspace.com)) With crew certification, the rollout-to‑launch window leaves roughly two weeks for any discovery‑level work and final integrated tests, compressing margin for Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and propulsion suppliers to clear remaining open items in advance of the April window. (nasa.gov))
