Could NASA’s Artemis 2 rollout get delayed again? NASA engineers are targeting tonight at 8 PM [Mar 16, 2026] to roll the Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. The Artemis crew entered quarantine last night to prepare for a launch next month. Ken Kremer, Managing Editor of Space UpClose joins FOX 35’s Garrett Wymer live via Zoom to preview NASA’s rollout and the odds of a successful string of events before the launch window opens next month. video: https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/fmc-vihrm1hbp25zq1hj. Credit: Fox 35 Orlando/Screenshot: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpclose.comCAPE CANAVERAL/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – On March 19, 2026 I was interviewed live by Fox 35 Orlando about updating the status on NASA Artemis II rollout from VAB to launch pad39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center that was scheduled to start later in the evening that day at about 8 p.m. ET.
At the time of the interview at 11:30 am ET interview winds were howling on the Florida Space Coast, just abit below the weather criteria limit
We also discussed in detail the work ahead required to launch the Artiemis II SLS and Orion moon rocket NET April 1 – with 4 Astronauts to the moon and back.
Screenshot
The Artemis crew entered quarantine last night to prepare for a launch next month
Watch my complete live interview of Fox 35 Orlando here:
Caption: Could NASA’s Artemis 2 rollout get delayed again?
NASA engineers are targeting tonight at 8 PM [Mar 16, 2026] to roll the Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. The Artemis crew entered quarantine last night to prepare for a launch next month. Ken Kremer, Managing Editor of Space UpClose joins FOX 35’s Garrett Wymer live via Zoom to preview NASA’s rollout and the odds of a successful string of events before the launch window opens next month. Credit: Fox 35 Orlando
Could NASA’s Artemis 2 rollout get delayed again? NASA engineers are targeting tonight at 8 PM [Mar 16, 2026] to roll the Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. The Artemis crew entered quarantine last night to prepare for a launch next month. Ken Kremer, Managing Editor of Space UpClose joins FOX 35’s Garrett Wymer live via Zoom to preview NASA’s rollout and the odds of a successful string of events before the launch window opens next month. video: https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/fmc-vihrm1hbp25zq1hj. Credit: Fox 35 Orlando/Screenshot: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpclose.comThe 4-mile trek at max ca 0.8 mph takes about 12 hours to top of pad as the Crawler-Transporter-2 (CT-2) moves the 11 million pounds of mass from the VAB
NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft mega moon rocket for the Artemis II crewed moonshot mission completed its rollback from launch pad 39B into the VAB where it arrived inside late evening Feb. 25, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida – to fix the helium flow interruption issue detected in the ICPS upper stage during testing overnight Feb. 21 at Launch Complex 39B.
The approximately 4-mile rollback trek took approx. 10 ½ hours – similar to rollout on Jan. 17.
NASA’s crawler-transporter 2, carrying NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft, arrives Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida – after rolling back from Launch Complex 39B. NASA will repair blockages of helium flow to the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) upper stage required for purges and fuel tank pressurization to launch the rocket. Once complete the SLS rocket will roll back to pad 39B to launch four astronauts around the Moon and back for Artemis II test flight. Credit: Ken Kremer / Space UpClose
After arrival back in the VAB, within an hour or so teams immediately begin work to install platforms to access the area of the helium flow blockage issue in the rockets ICPS upper stage to diagnose and fix it
NASA Artemis II will launch four astronauts around the Moon and back on a 10 days test flight – on the first mission to send humans to the Moon in over 50 years since Apollo 17 in Dec. 1972.
The Helium clog forced the rollback which also forced an Artemis II launch delay from early March to the NET early April window – TBD.
The quick timing of the Feb 25 rollback also preserves NASA the option of preserving the best possibility to launch Artemis II in the April launch window – which extends from April 1 to April 6
This unfortunate Helium clog problem came right after NASA completed a fully successful cryogenic fueling test and simulated launch countdown test of its SLS (Space Launch System) mega moon rocket during the 2nd attempt at a wet dress rehearsal (WDR) on Thursday, Feb. 19 at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Enjoy our multiple Galleries of Rollback photos for Space UpClose from the team of Ken Kremer and Jean Wright – which are posted in several galleries
Mar 19 Fox 35 Orlando: Watch my complete live interview about updating the status on NASA Artemis II rollout from VAB to launch pad39B. And work ahead required to launch net April 1 with 4 Astronauts to the moon and back.
Could NASA’s Artemis 2 rollout get delayed again? NASA engineers are targeting tonight at 8 PM [Mar 16, 2026] to roll the Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. The Artemis crew entered quarantine last night to prepare for a launch next month. Ken Kremer, Managing Editor of Space UpClose joins FOX 35’s Garrett Wymer live via Zoom to preview NASA’s rollout and the odds of a successful string of events before the launch window opens next month. video: https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/fmc-vihrm1hbp25zq1hj. Credit: Fox 35 Orlando/Screenshot: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpclose.com
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.
CAPE CANAVERAL/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – On March 25, 2026 I was interviewed live by Fox 35 Orlando about “NASA unveils timeline for $20 billion moon base project” and NASAs new plans to establish a moon base with astronauts at the lunar South Pole – that were announced on March 24 by new NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. Also discussed – How,
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – After a few weeks of repairs and high winds in the final hours forcing another 4 hours of delays that stretched into Friday, March 20, NASA at last completed the 2nd rollout of the agency’s Artemis II SLS Moon rocket and Orion spacecraft from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) back out to launch pad 39B
