NASA begins fueling rocket to launch astronauts on the first lunar trip in half a century

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA begun fueling its satellite rocket Wednesday for humanity's archetypal lunar travel successful much than fractional a century, aiming for an evening liftoff with 4 astronauts.

Tensions were precocious arsenic hydrogen substance started flowing into the rocket hours up of the planned launch. Dangerous hydrogen leaks erupted during a countdown trial earlier this year, forcing a lengthy formation delay.

The motorboat squad needs to load much than 700,000 gallons of substance (2.6 cardinal liters) into the 32-story Space Launch System rocket connected the pad earlier the Artemis II unit tin board.

NASA's Artermis II satellite rocket sits connected Launch Pad 39-B astatine the Kennedy Space Center hours up of a planned motorboat effort Wednesday, April 1, 2026, successful Cape Canaveral, Fla.

AP Photo/Chris O'Meara

"It is clip to fly," commandant Reid Wiseman said connected the eve of motorboat via X. Favorable upwind was forecast.

Three Americans and 1 Canadian volition alert astir the satellite without stopping oregon adjacent orbiting - past caput consecutive backmost for a Pacific splashdown. They volition acceptable a caller region grounds for the farthest humans person traveled from Earth arsenic they zoom immoderate 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) beyond the satellite and past bent a U-turn.

SEE ALSO | Artemis II satellite ngo guide: How to watch, who are the astronauts

Astronauts past flew to the satellite during Apollo 17 successful 1972.

Artemis II is the opening changeable of NASA's expansive plans for a imperishable satellite base. The abstraction programme is aiming for a satellite landing adjacent the lunar southbound rod successful 2028.

This photograph provided by NASA shows NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.

Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP

"The adjacent epoch of exploration begins," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman posted connected X.

Best wishes already person started to determination in, including from England's King Charles III to Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

Hansen volition go the archetypal non-U. S. national to motorboat to the moon. The unit besides includes Christina Koch and Victor Glover, the archetypal pistillate and archetypal Black astronaut, respectively, destined for the moon.

"In this historical moment, you basal arsenic a span betwixt nations and generations," the king wrote successful a missive to Hansen, "and I commend you for your courage, subject and imaginativeness that person brought you to this threshold."