What Explains the Artemis II Delay? NASA held a news conference Tuesday afternoon (Feb 3, 2026) following a delay of the launch of Artemis II after a wet dress rehearsal. Ken Kremer, managing editor of Space UpClose, joined FOX 35’s Garrett Wymer live via Zoom to discuss the details. Screenshot: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/FOX 35 Orlando. Video: https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/fmc-k6zn2fhrf1gk2zw7
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – I was interviewed live by FOX 35 Orlando on Feb. 3 at the Kennedy Space Center press site following NASA’s news conference for the media discussing why the WDR (wet dress rehearsal) cryogenic propellant fueling test for the Artemis II moon rocket ended early overnight Feb 2/3 due to serious hydrogen leaks.
Also- what’s ahead with NASA working to fix the hydrogen leaks which reached a dangerous 16% level, when will another WDR be scheduled and launch now delayed to NET March 6 as NASA evaluates the way forward
Caption: What Explains the Artemis II Delay? NASA held a news conference Tuesday afternoon (Feb 3, 2026) following a delay of the launch of Artemis II after a wet dress rehearsal. Ken Kremer, managing editor of Space UpClose, joined FOX 35’s Garrett Wymer live via Zoom to discuss the details
During the critically important WDR Wet Dress Rehearsal propellant loading test over 700,000 gals cryogenic fuels LOX and LH2 are loaded into the core and upper stages of the Artemis II rocket standing a launch pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
What Explains the Artemis II Delay? NASA held a news conference Tuesday afternoon (Feb 3, 2026) following a delay of the launch of Artemis II after a wet dress rehearsal. Ken Kremer, managing editor of Space UpClose, joined FOX 35’s Garrett Wymer live via Zoom to discuss the details. Screenshot: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/FOX 35 Orlando. Video: https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/fmc-k6zn2fhrf1gk2zw7
NASA’s Artemis II SLS Orion rocket is destined to carry the first humans to the Moon in more than half a century since 1972 on a history making mission as soon as a flight now rescheduled to NET March 6
TSMU UpClose showing Hydrogen leak location. This upclose view shows the pair of TSMU Tail Service Mast Umbilicals at the base of NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft as they rolled out from NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) atop NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) to Launch Complex 39B, on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Cryogenic propellants LH2 and LOX are loaded into the core stage and upper stage via the TSMU. Serious hydrogen gas leaks were detected during the Feb 2, 2026 WDR fueling test which then had to be aborted. Artemis II is a test flight to send 4 astronauts on a historic lunar flyby to the moon and back launching NET Early 2026. Credit: Ken Kremer / Space UpClose
The Artemis II crew comprises Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch of NASA, along with CSA’s (Canadian Space Agency) Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen
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NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft stand atop Launch Complex 39B, on Jan. 30, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Artemis II is a test flight to send 4 astronauts on a historic lunar flyby to the moon and back launching NET Early 2026. Credit: Ken Kremer / Space UpClose.comx
NASA Artemis II crew pose with their NASA Artemis II rocket during SLS/Orion rollout to launch pad 39b at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida – after media briefing at Countdown Clock, Jan 17, 2026. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch & Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Artemis II is a test flight to send 4 astronauts on a lunar flyby to the moon and back launching NET Early February 2026. Credit: Ken Kremer / Space UpClose
Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news. Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics. Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events.
TITUSVILLE, FL – Early risers lucky enough to gaze skyward witnessed a dazzling ‘Space Jellyfish’ illuminating the pre-dawn skies with stunning pastel colors flowing overhead following a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of another batch of Starlink satellites from Florida’s Space Coast. Following liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 at 5:52 a.m. ET on March 4, on the Starlink 10-40 mission
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – At a news conference at the Kennedy Space Center press site held on February 27, 2026, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced sweeping changes to Project Artemis – increasing the flight cadence for the SLS and Orion moon rocket by adding another test flight to improve resiliency and reliability, as well as changing the goals of
