Space Launch System

NASA’s first Space Launch System moon rocket arrived on pad 39B early Aug. 17 after an overnight rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Three instrumented mannequins strapped into seats on NASA’s Orion spacecraft awaiting liftoff on the first flight of the huge Space Launch System rocket will help engineers evaluate the human experience for future astronauts trips to the moon.

NASA’s towering 322-foot-tall Space Launch System moon rocket and Orion spacecraft arrived at their seaside launch complex early Wednesday after an overnight rollout from an assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center, moving a step closer to liftoff no earlier than Aug. 29 on an unpiloted test flight around the moon.

NASA’s Space Launch System moon rocket emerged from the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center around 10 p.m. EDT Tuesday (0200 GMT Wednesday) for an overnight ride to launch pad 39B. The rocket arrived at the seaside launch complex about 10 hours later. The Artemis 1 mission is set for launch Aug. 29 on its inaugural test flight carrying NASA’s Orion spacecraft around the moon.

NASA is tentatively targeting Aug. 29 for the long-awaited maiden flight of the agency’s huge Space Launch System moon rocket, officials said Wednesday. But they cautioned major challenges remain for the oft-delayed mega rocket and an official date will not be set until later this summer.

NASA’s powerful new Space Launch System moon rocket was hauled from its launch pad back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center Saturday for final repairs, testing and closeouts, moving closer to liftoff later this summer after completing a fueling demonstration last month.

With a series of practice countdowns complete, NASA managers said Friday the powerful Space Launch System rocket could be ready for its first test flight in late August or early September to send an unpiloted Orion crew capsule around the moon.

Forgoing another countdown rehearsal, NASA plans to return the first Space Launch System rocket to its assembly hangar at the Kennedy Space Center next week for a hydrogen leak repair and continued preparations for liftoff on the Artemis 1 moon mission.

NASA ran through a countdown rehearsal for the Space Launch System moon rocket Monday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch team loaded more than 750,000 gallons of super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the more than 30-story-tall rocket, a key test before a demonstration flight later this year.

Countdown clocks began ticking Saturday for NASA’s fourth attempt to complete a dress-rehearsal countdown and fueling test of its Space Launch System moon rocket, a requirement before the huge booster can be cleared for launch on its long-awaited maiden flight.