NASA’s SLS and Orion rolled to the launch pad for the Artemis 2 mission Jan. 17, though uncertainty remains about when the mission will be ready to launch.

NASA has confirmed the upcoming milestones for its historic Artemis II mission—the first crewed flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, sending four astronauts on a lunar flyby for the first time in over 50 years—with rollout and Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) to set the stage for a potential launch in February.

One morning this past June, inside the mission control building at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, 20 or so flight controllers were seated at consoles arranged in neat rows. The atmosphere was intense,