Moon rocket and weather are on NASA's side for the first astronaut launch in decades

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The NASA Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft is seen at Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

This photo provided by NASA shows NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, from left, Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, right, in a group photograph as they visit NASA's Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, Monday, March 30, 2026, at Launch Complex 39B of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP) — The NASA Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft is seen at Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

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3:21 PM on Tuesday, March 31

By MARCIA DUNN

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — After weeks of fuel leaks and other issues, NASA faced a trouble-free countdown Tuesday on the eve of astronauts' first trip to the moon in more than half a century.

Officials reported the moon rocket was doing well on the pad, and the weather looked promising. Forecasters put the odds of favorable conditions at 80%.

“Everybody's pretty excited and understands the significance of this launch,” said senior test director Jeff Spaulding.

The four astronauts assigned to the Artemis II mission will become the first lunar visitors since Apollo 17 in 1972. They’ll zip around the moon without landing or even orbiting, and come straight back.

It's the closest NASA has come to launching Artemis II. Hydrogen fuel leaks bumped the flight from February to March, then clogged helium lines pushed it to April. The space agency has only a handful of days every month to send the three Americans and one Canadian to the moon.

Confident that all of these problems are fixed, the launch team plans to begin fueling the 32-story Space Launch System rocket on Wednesday morning for an evening send-off.

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