NASA has moved one step closer to returning humans to the Moon after successfully positioning the Artemis II rocket on its launch pad, marking the beginning of final preflight preparations for the first crewed lunar mission in more than fifty years.
Late Saturday evening, NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft arrived at Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, completing a slow and meticulously planned rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The transfer, which lasted nearly half a day, signals that Artemis II has entered its final testing phase ahead of launch.
A Massive Rocket Moves Into Position
The rollout began earlier in the day as NASA’s crawler-transporter carried the fully assembled rocket along a four-mile route across the space center. Traveling at less than one mile per hour, the crawler carefully delivered the towering vehicle to the historic pad once used for Apollo and Space Shuttle missions.
Once outside the assembly building, teams paused operations to reposition critical access equipment that will allow astronauts and ground crews to enter the Orion capsule on launch day. By early evening, the rocket was secured at the pad, illuminated under floodlights as engineers began post-rollout inspections.
