NASA’s new moon rocket has rolled out to the launch pad in Florida, marking a major milestone ahead of the first crewed lunar fly-around in more than 50 years. The massive Space Launch System, carrying the Artemis II mission, completed its slow journey to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, positioning the agency for a possible launch as early as February.
The 322-foot rocket began moving from the Vehicle Assembly Building at daybreak, advancing at little more than walking speed. By nightfall, it had completed the four-mile trip that space officials and employees have awaited for years. Thousands of NASA workers and their families gathered before sunrise to watch the rollout, a moment many described as emotional after repeated delays tied to technical reviews and safety upgrades.
“It is awe-inspiring,” said mission commander Reid Wiseman as the rocket emerged from the building originally designed in the 1960s for the Saturn V missions that powered the Apollo era.
A return to the moon, step by step
The Space Launch System, weighing roughly 11 million pounds with the Orion crew capsule mounted on top, was transported on a crawler upgraded from the Apollo and space shuttle programs. Although this will not be a landing mission, Artemis II represents a critical step in NASA’s plan to send humans back to the moon and, eventually, to its surface.
Wiseman will be joined by pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch, both veteran NASA astronauts, as well as Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who will be making his first spaceflight. Together, they will spend about 10 days on a looping trajectory around the moon and back to Earth.
They will become the first humans to travel to lunar distance since the final Apollo mission in 1972. That program put 12 astronauts on the moon, beginning with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969. Only four of those moonwalkers are still alive today, underscoring the historic nature of the upcoming flight.
NASA officials stressed that caution remains the priority. Problems discovered during the uncrewed Artemis I test flight in 2022, including heat shield damage, required extensive analysis and delayed the crewed mission. As a result, the agency plans to conduct a critical fueling test on the launch pad in early February before confirming an exact liftoff date.
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency has “no intention” of announcing a firm launch schedule until that test is completed. For now, the window to fly in the first half of February remains narrow, with only a few viable launch days before the timeline slips into March.
If successful, Artemis II will pave the way for future missions, including the third Artemis flight, which is expected to attempt the first human moon landing of this new era.