NASA rolls Artemis II rocket to launchpad at Kennedy Space Center

NASA began moving the Space Launch System vehicle, the Orion capsule and the launch tower from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday as the agency prepares the crewed Artemis II lunar flyby. The crawler transported about 14 million pounds of hardware 4.2 miles at a pace of less than one mile per hour; the trip typically takes half a day.

The vehicle and tower were assembled inside the 322-foot Vehicle Assembly Building and are being carried on one of two crawlers built in the 1960s and later modified for the space shuttle. "This is the start of a very long journey," said Jared Isaacman, the NASA administrator. Artemis II will carry commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of NASA, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency on a 10.5-day mission that will swing around the moon without landing and return to a Pacific Ocean splashdown.

The mission’s main objective is to test a life-support system with crew on board; the Space Launch System flew once before on Artemis I in 2022 with an empty Orion and mannequins aboard. Once at the pad, teams will hook up electrical and propellant connections and perform system checks before a dress rehearsal in early February that will include tanking and stopping the countdown at 29 seconds.

The earliest possible launch opportunities run Feb. 6 through Feb. 11, though Mr.

Key Topics

Science, Artemis Ii, Space Launch System, Orion Capsule, Kennedy Space Center, Vehicle Assembly Building