The artemis ii launch is targeted no earlier than 6: 24 p. m. ET on Wednesday, April 1, with a two-hour launch window and additional opportunities through April 6, and agencies have published a full media and briefing plan for prelaunch, launch and mission activities.
Artemis Ii Launch: What media access looks like
NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch, launch and mission events for the crewed test flight. Media accreditation deadlines for in-person coverage have passed; a limited number of seats inside the Kennedy auditorium will be available for previously credentialed journalists on a first-come, first-served basis. Briefings will include opportunities for telephone participation, subject to RSVP rules set by agency newsrooms, and a shift in briefing location is scheduled to begin the day after launch.
What Happens When the countdown begins?
- All events are listed in Eastern Time (ET).
- 2: 30 p. m. ET — Crew arrival at Kennedy; crew will answer questions from credentialed media. Agency leadership, including NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and CSA President Lisa Campbell, will attend.
- 9: 30 a. m. ET — Crew virtual question-and-answer session from their quarantine facility.
- 2: 00 p. m. ET — Status update on preparations for launch.
- 5: 00 p. m. ET — News conference following a key mission meeting to provide a status update on preparations for launch.
- 1: 00 p. m. ET — Prelaunch news conference on countdown status.
- 7: 45 a. m. ET — Coverage of tanking operations to load propellant into the SLS rocket, including vehicle views and commentator audio.
- 12: 50 p. m. ET — Agency streaming coverage of launch begins; coverage will continue after early mission milestones such as deployment of the Orion solar arrays.
Who the mission spotlights and what will be tested
The mission will launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on an approximately 10-day journey around the Moon. Launching on the agency’s SLS rocket, the flight will test the Orion spacecraft’s life support systems with humans aboard for the first time, a capability the program identifies as critical for future crewed missions.
The Canadian Space Agency will host bilingual events at its John H. Chapman facility in Longueuil for launch and splashdown activities and for three planned space-to-Earth connections, with media invited to attend in person where capacity and accreditation permit. Starting prior to launch, agency centers will hold a series of prelaunch briefings and status updates that media may follow within the established accreditation and RSVP processes.
For editors and producers working ET schedules: coverage windows and briefing times are set around the launch-day timeline and include prelaunch tanking, countdown status briefings and postlaunch news conferences approximately two and a half hours after liftoff. The agencies have indicated they will continuously update mission briefings and event times as preparations proceed.
Expect operational updates and potential schedule shifts between the targeted launch window and additional daily opportunities through April 6. The artemis ii launch presents a tightly choreographed media plan focused on credentialed in-person access, remote participation options and continuous agency-led coverage of key events.
