NASA on Saturday began the final phase of launch preparations for its Artemis II mission, moving the agency\u2019s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket toward its Florida launchpad ahead of the first crewed flight under its lunar return programme.<\/p>\n
The 322-foot-tall SLS rocket was rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center shortly after sunrise, travelling at about one mile per hour on its mobile launch platform for a four-mile journey to the pad. Hundreds of NASA employees and contractors gathered along the route to watch the slow procession.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe truly look at that and see teamwork, we see global cooperation, we see a strong nation leading the way,\u201d said Artemis II mission commander Reid Wiseman, speaking to reporters as the rocket moved toward the pad.<\/p>\n
The Artemis II mission will be the second flight of the multibillion-dollar Artemis programme and the first to carry astronauts. The four-person crew \u2014 three Americans and one Canadian \u2014 will undertake a roughly 10-day mission that will send them around the moon and back, pushing humans farther into space than ever before.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt represents an extraordinary American workforce, right there,\u201d said mission astronaut Jeremy Hansen of Canada.<\/p>\n
NASA is targeting a launch as early as February 6, though the schedule depends on the outcome of a critical \u201cwet dress rehearsal,\u201d planned four days earlier, which will simulate the full launch countdown to identify potential technical issues. Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said the rehearsal would play a central role in determining readiness.<\/p>\n
\u201cWet dress is really the driver,\u201d Blackwell-Thompson said on Friday. \u201cYou\u2019re going to need a little bit of time to look at the data.\u201d<\/p>\n
The February timeline could also be affected by scheduling demands at the space centre tied to another astronaut mission to the International Space Station, after the return of a previous crew was accelerated due to a medical issue.<\/p>\n
NASA has identified three potential launch windows for Artemis II, extending through April, aligned with orbital mechanics required for the lunar flyby. The windows currently run from February 6 to April 11, March 3 to March 11, or April 1 to April 6.<\/p>\n
Artemis II follows the programme\u2019s uncrewed test flight in 2022 and is intended to pave the way for later missions that would land astronauts on the moon later this decade.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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