{"id":23613,"date":"2026-01-17T01:28:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T17:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/artemis-ii-rolls-out-to-lc-39b-for-first-crewed-lunar-mission-since-1972\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T01:28:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T17:28:01","slug":"artemis-ii-rolls-out-to-lc-39b-for-first-crewed-lunar-mission-since-1972","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/artemis-ii-rolls-out-to-lc-39b-for-first-crewed-lunar-mission-since-1972\/","title":{"rendered":"Artemis II rolls out to LC-39B for first crewed lunar mission since 1972"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The rocket and spacecraft that will perform the first human spaceflight to the vicinity of the Moon since December 1972 rolled out to Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, Jan. 17. The Orion spacecraft and its associated Space Launch System rocket, mounted on its mobile launch platform, started its rollout with first motion at 7:04 am EST (12:04 UTC).<\/p>\n<p>This flight is only the second mission for SLS, and its first flight with crew. Artemis II\u2019s four-person crew will fly the Orion spacecraft, which they named <em>Integrity<\/em>, on a 10-day mission to loop around the Moon and return to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific off the coast of California.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"NASA Rolls SLS to Launch Complex 39B for Artemis II Moon Launch\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/s6NyK61CmXY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>Integrity<\/em> will not enter lunar orbit, but will nonetheless fly further than any other spacecraft with humans to date, going to a point roughly 7,500 km from the lunar far side.<\/p>\n<p>Artemis II is commanded by former chief of NASA\u2019s Astronaut Office Reid Wiseman, with Victor Glover acting as the pilot, while Christina Koch and Canada\u2019s Jeremy Hansen are mission specialists. These four astronauts will be the first to fly on a human deep space mission since Apollo 17\u2019s Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, and Ron Evans.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-111526\" class=\"size-full wp-image-111526\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0205.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0205.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0205-280x350.png 280w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0205-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0205-1170x1463.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-111526\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The official Artemis II crew portrait. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>Koch will be the first woman, Glover the first person of color, and Hansen the first non-American to launch on a deep space mission as well. All three NASA astronauts on Artemis II are spaceflight veterans, each having served tours of duty on the International Space Station, while Jeremy Hansen is making his first space flight.<\/p>\n<p>Saturday\u2019s Artemis II rollout was the first for a human mission to the Moon\u2019s vicinity since the Apollo 17 Saturn V rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on Aug. 28, 1972 to Launch Complex 39A. Much of the Apollo program\u2019s infrastructure is also used for Artemis missions; Launch Complex 39, the VAB, the Crawler Transporter-2 (CT-2), the launch control center, and the crawlerway were all developed and built during the Apollo program.<\/p>\n<p>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n<p>Artemis II rolled out of the VAB onto the nearly seven-kilometer-long crawlerway, lined with smooth river rock from quarries, to Launch Complex 39B (LC-39B) with CT-2 rolling at a stately pace of less than one mile per hour. The rollout was to last for up to 12 hours, but the Artemis II stack officially arrived at LC-39B at 6:42 PM EST (23:42 UTC). There were brief stops for hardware issues and a planned stop to retract the crew access arm.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-111527\" class=\"size-full wp-image-111527\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0200.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0200.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0200-280x350.jpeg 280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-111527\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apollo 17 rolling out to the launch pad on Aug. 28, 1972. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>When the crawlerway was designed, it was realized that asphalt would not be suitable for holding the weight of the 6.65 million pound crawler-transporter, let alone the weight of the Launch Umbilical Tower and Saturn V on top of that.<\/p>\n<p>The river rock acts as \u201cball bearings\u201d and absorb energy when they are compacted. The CT-2 and Mobile Launcher 1 (ML1) with SLS combined weighs roughly 15 million pounds, and CT-2 is the only crawler modified to handle that weight. This is much heavier than the combined crawler-transporter, mobile platform, and rocket for the Saturn V (11 million pounds) and the Space Shuttle (12 million pounds)<\/p>\n<p>Once CT-2, ML1, and the Artemis II SLS rocket combination reached the perimeter of LC-39B, CT-2 began leveling the ML\/SLS combination as it slowly climbed the slope from the crawlerway to the 450-foot long flame trench underneath the center of the launch pad. The process finished some 11 hours after the rollout started.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-111528\" class=\"size-full wp-image-111528\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0208.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0208.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0208-350x197.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0208-622x350.jpeg 622w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0208-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0208-1170x658.jpeg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-111528\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">ML-2, the heaviest self-powered vehicle on Earth, is seen prior to rolling out Artemis II. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"widget-title penci-border-arrow\">See Also<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Artemis Forum<\/li>\n<li>Orion Discussion Thread<\/li>\n<li>NSF Store<\/li>\n<li>L2 Artemis<\/li>\n<li>Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>ML1 and Artemis II are jacked down onto the pad, which was redesigned as a \u201cclean pad\u201d at the end of the Space Shuttle program with three lightning towers but no permanent large above-ground towers. Workers will connect ML1 to the pad infrastructure, while CT-2 prepares to roll back empty.<\/p>\n<p>A wet dress rehearsal will occur on Monday, Feb. 2, while the launch is currently scheduled for Friday, Feb. 6, at 9:41 PM EST (02:41 UTC Saturday, Feb. 7). This rehearsal will involve a complete countdown and propellant load similar to a launch, and NASA hopes to conduct some tests they were not able to during the Artemis I flow. However, meeting this launch date depends on the outcome of the wet dress rehearsal as well as resolving any other issues that come up during flight preparations.<\/p>\n<p>As an example of what can happen during launch processing, Artemis I rolled out four times over eight months before finally flying on Nov. 16, 2022, after initially crawling out of the VAB on March 17 for a spring launch. Ground system issues, hydrogen leaks, sensors, a check valve, and tropical storm activity conspired to scrub wet dress rehearsals and launch attempts, forcing repeated rollbacks to the VAB.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-111532\" class=\"size-full wp-image-111532\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0209.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1170\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0209.png 1170w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0209-350x233.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0209-525x350.png 525w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0209-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0209-585x390.png 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0209-263x175.png 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-111532\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Artemis I SLS during its successful Green Run test on March 18, 2021. (Credit: Brady Kenniston for NSF)<\/p>\n<p>Prior to its first rollout, Artemis I\u2019s core stage also underwent \u201cgreen run\u201d testing at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, with two attempts needed before a successful test in March 2021. This green run was a full duration firing of the stage\u2019s four Shuttle-derived RS-25 main engines; the Artemis II stage was not tested in this manner. The upcoming wet dress rehearsal could find new issues for the stage that need to be fixed.<\/p>\n<p>Artemis II\u2019s flight processing does have improvements over Artemis I. The SLS needs to have its flight termination devices installed before rollout to the pad; for Artemis I any issues with the termination system could have required a rollback to the VAB as the explosives were not accessible from ML1 at LC-39B. However, for Artemis II, there is now a modification that allows access to the flight termination system without returning to the VAB.<\/p>\n<p>The ML1 launch tower required extensive repairs after Artemis I due to damage from the RS-25 and SRB sound waves and exhaust; elevator doors, pneumatic lines, seals, and cabling were destroyed. These repairs are complete, and the tower was reinforced and upgraded. Crews also installed a slide wire emergency egress system for the astronauts to use if a rocket or system malfunction threatens their safety at the pad.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-106595\" class=\"size-full wp-image-106595\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4233.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"3500\" height=\"2721\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4233.png 3500w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4233-350x272.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4233-450x350.png 450w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4233-768x597.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4233-1920x1493.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4233-1170x910.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 3500px) 100vw, 3500px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-106595\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artemis II will be flying a 10-day mission that will pass by the Moon before returning to Earth. (Credit: L3Harris)<\/p>\n<p>Once Artemis II passes its wet dress rehearsal and is ready for launch, the mission\u2019s launch opportunities are constrained by factors ranging from solar power requirements to facility consumables supply. &nbsp;Artemis II has a few days each month from February to April available for flying, due to the lunar cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to Artemis II, LC-39B hosted one Apollo launch \u2014 Apollo 10 \u2014 as well as all three Skylab launches with the Saturn 1B, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, 53 Space Shuttle launches, Ares I-X, and Artemis I. Artemis II will be the 61st launch from LC-39B, which will host all Artemis missions launched on SLS. LC-39A, located next door, is leased by SpaceX.<\/p>\n<p>The first crewed lunar flight since 1972 will be historic, and a successful flight would pave the way for Artemis III \u2014 the first crewed lunar landing in over half a century.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Lead image: Artemis II rolls out to LC-39B on Jan. 17, 2026. Credit: Sawyer Rosenstein for NSF)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The rocket and spacecraft that will perform the first human spaceflight to the vicinity of the Moon since December 1972 rolled out to Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, Jan. 17. The Orion spacecraft and its associated Space Launch System rocket, mounted on its mobile launch platform, started its rollout with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[304,5942,7819,950,793,137,625,190,640,3159,624,1701],"class_list":["post-23613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-artemis","tag-artemis-ii","tag-crewed","tag-integrity","tag-lc-39b","tag-lunar","tag-moon","tag-nasa","tag-orion","tag-rollout","tag-sls","tag-vab"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23613"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23613\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}