Artemis II Mission Tracker: Live Technical Coverage

Timeline of Key Events

Crew Wake-Up & Perigee Raise Burn Prep — April 2, 7:00 AM EDT

After a four-hour rest period, the Artemis II crew was awakened to prepare for an additional perigee raise burn using the Orion European Service Module’s OMS engine. This burn will lift the lowest point of Orion’s orbit to establish the correct geometry for the TLI burn later today. Following the burn, the crew will resume sleep for approximately 4.5 hours before the intensive Flight Day 2 timeline begins.

Proximity Operations Demonstration Complete — April 1, ~11:37 PM EDT

One of the mission’s marquee early objectives was completed when pilot Victor Glover manually flew Orion through a series of controlled approach-and-retreat maneuvers using the detached Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) as a reference target. Over approximately 70 minutes, the crew tested Orion’s translational and rotational hand controllers, evaluating fine handling qualities at distances down to roughly 30 feet from the spent upper stage.

Why this matters: Artemis III (targeted 2027) will require Orion to dock with SpaceX’s Human Landing System or Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander. This was the first real-world validation of Orion’s manual piloting characteristics, and the data will directly inform simulator fidelity and rendezvous flight software for those missions.

At the conclusion of the demo, Orion executed an automated departure burn. The ICPS subsequently performed a disposal burn to deorbit over a remote region of the Pacific Ocean.

Toilet Fault Troubleshot & Resolved — April 1–2

During spacecraft configuration ahead of the apogee raise burn, the crew reported a blinking fault light on the waste management system. Mission control teams worked with the crew to diagnose and resolve the issue — a controller fault, not a mechanical failure. The system was restored to normal operations before the crew’s rest period.

Deep Space Network Handover — April 1, ~9:46 PM EDT

Orion switched from NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) to the Deep Space Network — marking the first time in over 50 years that a spacecraft carrying humans has traveled far enough from Earth to require DSN communications.

Apogee Raise Burn — April 1, ~8:52 PM EDT

The ICPS RL10 engine fired for approximately 18 minutes, raising Orion’s apogee to 43,760 miles — placing the crew in a highly elliptical 24-hour orbit.

Perigee Raise Maneuver — April 1, ~7:52 PM EDT

Approximately 50 minutes after launch, the ICPS fired its RL10 engine to raise the perigee to a safe altitude of approximately 115 miles.

Solar Array Wing Deployment — April 1, ~6:59 PM EDT

All four solar array wings on Orion’s European Service Module deployed successfully, giving the spacecraft a wingspan of roughly 63 feet and activating 60,000 solar cells.

Launch — April 1, 2026, 6:35 PM EDT

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, generating 8.8 million pounds of thrust at ignition. The twin solid rocket boosters separated at T+2:09, the launch abort system jettisoned at T+3:13, and core stage MECO occurred at T+8:02. SLS performed flawlessly through ascent.

Historic firsts at launch:

• Victor Glover: first person of color to travel beyond low Earth orbit
• Christina Koch: first woman to travel beyond low Earth orbit
• Jeremy Hansen: first non-U.S. citizen to travel beyond low Earth orbit
• First crewed flight beyond LEO since Apollo 17 (December 1972)

CubeSat Secondary Payloads

• ATENEA (Argentina) — radiation shielding and long-range communications research
• Space Weather CubeSat-1 (Saudi Arabia) — solar weather measurements across the Van Allen belts
• TACHELES (Germany) — in-space technology demonstration for future lunar logistics
• K-Rad Cube (South Korea) — biological effects of space radiation

What’s Coming Next

The Big Decision: TLI Go/No-Go

The most consequential moment of the entire mission comes today. After the crew completes their checkout of Orion’s propulsion, life support, navigation, and communication systems during the 24-hour Earth orbit period, NASA flight directors will make the call: go or no-go for TLI. If Orion’s OMS engine fires as planned, the spacecraft will accelerate onto a free-return trajectory — meaning lunar gravity will bend its path back toward Earth for splashdown even without further engine burns. There is no abort-to-Earth option after TLI; the crew is committed to the full lunar flyby.

Mission Quick Reference

Technical Context

Why Artemis II Matters Beyond the Headlines

• Orion’s first crewed flight. Testing life support under real thermal and radiation conditions for 10 days.
• Heat shield validation. Artemis I revealed unexpected charring. This reentry validates the redesigned skip-reentry profile.
• Free-return trajectory. Even with total propulsion failure after TLI, the crew returns home.
• Communications architecture. DSN handover and far-side blackout validate ground infrastructure for Artemis III.
• Crew autonomy. Up to 3-second delays near the Moon require autonomous decision-making.

The Road to Artemis III

If Artemis II succeeds, NASA plans to fly Artemis III — the first crewed lunar landing since 1972 — as early as 2027. The proximity operations data gathered yesterday is directly feeding into that docking capability.

This tracker is updated as milestones occur. Bookmark this page for continuous coverage throughout the Artemis II mission.

Sources: NASA Artemis Blog, NASA mission press conferences, CBS News, Space.com, Spaceflight Now, Scientific American