A Momentous Milestone for the Second Flight of SLS Has Been Achieved...

NASA / Keegan Barber

NASA’s Moonbound Artemis II Rocket Reaches Launch Pad (News Release)

At 6:42 p.m. EST on Saturday, January 17, NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft reached Launch Complex 39B after a nearly 12-hour journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Hours earlier, NASA’s Crawler-Transporter 2 began its 4-mile trek with the integrated SLS and Orion stacked on top. Moving at a maximum speed of just 0.82 mph, the crawler carried the towering Moon rocket and spacecraft slowly but surely toward the pad.

Once outside the VAB’s high-bay doors, the rocket made a planned pause allowing teams to reposition the crew access arm – a bridge that provides astronauts and a closeout crew access to Orion on launch day.

In the coming days, engineers and technicians will prepare the Artemis II rocket for the wet dress rehearsal, a test of fueling operations and countdown procedures. Targeted for no later than February 2, the team will load the rocket with cryogenic, or super-cold, propellants, run through the countdown, and practice safely draining the propellants from the rocket – all essential steps before the first crewed Artemis mission.

Additional wet dress rehearsals may be required to ensure that the vehicle is completely checked out and ready for flight. If needed, NASA may roll back SLS and Orion to the Vehicle Assembly Building for additional work ahead of launch after the wet dress rehearsal.

The Artemis II test flight will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on an approximately 10-day journey around the Moon and back. It is another step towards new U.S.-crewed missions to the Moon’s surface, leading to a sustained presence on the Moon that will help the agency prepare to send the first astronauts – Americans – to Mars.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Reid Wiseman


NASA / Sam Lott


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NASA / Keegan Barber


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NASA / Keegan Barber


NASA / Aubrey Gemignani


NASA / Aubrey Gemignani


NASA / Keegan Barber


NASA / Keegan Barber


NASA / Aubrey Gemignani


NASA / Keegan Barber


NASA / Brandon Hancock