Final Steps Underway for NASA’s First Crewed Artemis Moon Mission
NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is seen inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building as teams await the arrival of Artemis II crewmembers to board their Orion spacecraft on top of the rocket as part of the Artemis II countdown demonstration test, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA/Joel Kowsky As NASA moves closer to launch of the Artemis II test flight, the agency soon will roll its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft to the launch pad for the first time at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin final integration, testing, and launch rehearsals. NASA is targeting no earlier than Saturday, Jan. 17, to begin the multi-hour trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B. The four-mile journey on the crawler-transporter-2 will take up to 12 hours. Teams are working around the clock to close out all tasks ahead of rollout. However, this target date is subject to change if additional t...
