NASA moves moon rocket to launch pad ahead of Artemis 2 mission

NASA on Saturday rolled out its towering SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft as it began preparations for its first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years.

The maneuver, which took nearly 12 hours, will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency(CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on an approximately 10-day journey around the moon and back.

Thousands of space center workers and their families gathered in the predawn chill to witness the long-awaited event, delayed for years.

Weighing in at 5 million kilograms, the immense orange and white Space Launch System rocket and the Orion vessel were slowly wheeled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, built in the 1960s to accommodate the Saturn V rockets that sent 24 astronauts to the moon during the Apollo program.

It was painstakingly moved 6.5 kilometers to Launch Pad 39B aboard a massive transporter used during the Apollo and shuttle eras. It has been upgraded to handle the SLS rocket's extra heft.

Engineers in the coming days will prepare SLS and Orion for a wet dress rehearsal test that includes loading all the propellants into the rocket. This rehearsal will allow the Artemis mission management team to assess flight readiness.

If the tests are all satisfactory, the three Americans and one Canadian will fly around the moon as early as February 6, NASA said in an early post.

The first and only other SLS launch, which sent an empty Orion capsule into orbit around the moon, was in November 2022.

Artemis 3, currently scheduled for 2027, is expected to be pushed back, as industry experts say Elon Musk's SpaceX is behind on delivering the Starship megarocket needed for the mission.

(With input from agencies)