NASA rolls out giant rocket ahead of Artemis II moon mission

NASA moved the 100-metre Space Launch System to the launch pad Saturday as teams prepare Artemis II, which is scheduled no earlier than Feb. 6 and will carry four astronauts on a lunar flyby.

NASA rolled out the 100-metre Space Launch System (SLS) on Saturday as teams prepared the Artemis II mission. Artemis II is scheduled to launch no earlier than Feb. 6 and will carry four astronauts on a roughly 10-day lunar flyby. The crew includes Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover. SLS and the Orion spacecraft previously flew on the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022 and will undergo final checks before liftoff. Key details: - The rollout was scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. ET and the move can take roughly eight to 12 hours for the five-million-kilogram rocket to reach the pad. - It will take about an hour for the rocket to cross the Vehicle Assembly Building threshold. - The crew access arm retraction is expected to take roughly 45 minutes. - Once the rocket is at the pad, teams will make connections and preparations over the next day or so. - A wet dress rehearsal reported for Feb. 2 will load propellant and pause the countdown at T-29 seconds as a practice run. - Artemis III, planned to include a lunar surface landing, is scheduled no earlier than 2028. Summary: The rollout is a key preparatory step in a sequence of tests and rehearsals ahead of a crewed lunar flyby. A wet dress rehearsal is planned for Feb. 2, and teams will monitor results before proceeding toward the Feb. 6 launch window.