NASA Rolls Out SLS Rocket for Final Ground Tests Ahead of Artemis II Lunar Flight

NASA began a critical logistical phase on Saturday, January 17, 2026, by rolling out the 322-foot-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, integrated with the Orion spacecraft, from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This four-mile transit, executed by the historic Crawler-Transporter 2 vehicle, initiates the final series of pre-flight evaluations for the Artemis II mission, which is scheduled as the first crewed flight to the vicinity of the Moon in more than five decades.

The deliberate, hours-long journey to the launch complex proceeds at a maximum speed of approximately one mile per hour. Artemis II launch windows are currently targeted as early as February 6, 2026, extending through February 11, with subsequent opportunities available in March and April. This mission will serve as the inaugural crewed test for both the Orion capsule and the SLS rocket, building upon the success of the uncrewed Artemis I flight conducted in 2022. The four-person crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (Commander), Victor Glover (Pilot), and Christina Koch (Mission Specialist), alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen (Mission Specialist), who will be the first Canadian to participate in a lunar exploration mission.

During the approximately 10-day journey on a free-return trajectory around the Moon, Koch is slated to become the first woman, and Glover the first person of color, to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Mission leadership, including Mission Management Team Chair John Honeycutt, has emphasized a methodical approach, stating that crew safety remains the paramount concern. The rollout precedes a 'wet dress rehearsal' (WDR) scheduled for late January, a crucial procedure where the rocket will be fully fueled and the countdown run to the T-minus 29 second mark without the crew onboard. Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson confirmed that procedural modifications, informed by data from the 2022 uncrewed flight, have been integrated ahead of the WDR.

Once positioned at the pad, the crew will conduct essential systems checks, including testing Orion's life-support and communications apparatus, and will practice manual spacecraft handling. The successful conclusion of Artemis II is the direct precursor to the Artemis III mission, which aims to land astronauts near the Moon's south pole, targeted for launch sometime in 2027. This operational tempo is proceeding concurrently with other high-stakes activities, such as the coordination for the SpaceX Crew-12 launch, targeted no earlier than February 15, 2026, following the recent return of Crew-11. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, sworn into office in December 2025, participated in post-rollout media events, underscoring the agency's commitment to deep space exploration, a program formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1 with the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon.