NASA has begun rolling out its massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft to the launch pad for a second time, as it prepares for the landmark Artemis II mission—set to send astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
The 98-metre-tall rocket is making the slow, four-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, carried by the historic crawler-transporter. The move follows repairs to a helium system issue that forced NASA to abandon a March launch attempt and return the rocket for further inspection.
Engineers say the fault has now been resolved, and teams will conduct final tests at the launch pad to confirm readiness for an early April launch window. The rollout, which can take up to 12 hours at speeds of about 1 mph, is deliberately slow to minimize stress on the multi-billion-dollar rocket system.
Once at the pad, NASA teams will reconnect systems, run pressure checks on the helium components, and rehearse parts of the countdown process without fueling the rocket. A final decision on launch will follow a comprehensive review of test data by mission managers.
The Artemis II crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—has already entered pre-flight quarantine ahead of the mission. The 10-day flight will loop around the far side of the Moon before returning to Earth.
If successful, Artemis II will mark a major milestone in NASA’s lunar exploration program, becoming the first crewed mission in the Artemis series. It will pave the way for future missions, including Artemis III and Artemis IV, which aim to return humans to the lunar surface later this decade.
NASA is currently targeting April 1 for the first launch opportunity, with additional backup dates available throughout the first week of the month and a final window later in April if needed.
The mission represents a critical step in humanity’s return to deep space exploration, reviving crewed lunar travel for the first time since the Apollo era and setting the stage for a sustained human presence beyond Earth.