NASA is preparing to roll its towering Artemis 2 moon rocket back to its hangar after more than a month atop ts Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center due to a helium system issue. The rollback could occur as early as Tuesday, Feb. 24.
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Artemis 2 arrives at launch pad for moon launch
🚀 Our moonbound Artemis II rocket is on its launch pad! The Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft rolled out from @NASAKennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building, reaching Launch Pad 39B at 6:42pm ET (2342 UTC). Read more: https://t.co/NdRCRBfQGA pic.twitter.com/1oATLb7sTDJanuary 18, 2026
After more than 11 hours, NASA's might Artemis 2 moon rocket has arrived at it new launch pad home for the first time.
The Space Launch System rocket that will launch NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts around the moon arrived at its pad at Launch Complex 36B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 6:42 p.m. EST (2342 GMT), more than 11 1/2 hours after leaving its Vehicle Assembly Building hangar.
"In the coming days, engineers and technicians will prepare the Artemis II rocket for the wet dress rehearsal, a test of fueling operations and countdown procedures," NASA officials said in an update. "At the end of January, the team will load the rocket with cryogenic, or super-cold, propellants, run through the countdown, and practice safely draining the propellants from the rocket – all essential steps before the first crewed Artemis mission."
That fueling test is actually scheduled for Feb. 2, just days ahead of theopening of NASA's first Artemis 2 launch window on Feb. 6.
"Additional wet dress rehearsals may be required to ensure the vehicle is completely checked out and ready for flight," NASA wrote. "If needed, NASA may rollback SLS and Orion to the Vehicle Assembly Building for additional work ahead of launch after the wet dress rehearsal."
With the Artemis 2 SLS at the launch pad, this will be our final post of the day.
Thanks for joining us for our live coverage of the SLS rollout and have a great weekend!
Artemis 2 rocket continues toward launch pad in hour five
The NASA team behind the scenes making Artemis II possible. Thank you. https://t.co/B699LjmWTLJanuary 17, 2026
NASA has now passed the five-hour mark of today's Artemis 2 moon rocket roll out to the launch pad. We should be just over halfway to the pad, or slightly more than halfway, depending on if NASA's progress is following its eight-hour schedule or 10-hour plan. Here's a wrap on how things havce gone so far:
NASA rolls Artemis 2 rocket to the pad ahead of historic moon launch
NASA said it could take between 8-10 hours for the Artemis 2 Space Launch System to reach the pad due to the slow and steady pace of its Crawler Transporter, which moves at a top speed of 1 mile per hour, but does go slower on the turn toward Launch Pad 39B, as well as on the incline up to the pad.
That slow pace is necessary to keep the massive 11 million pound load of the 322-foot-tall SLS rocket and its Mobile Launch Platform stable.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has taken the time to thank the vast team supprting today's rollout for Artemis 2.
"Thanks to all those who have worked hard to get Artemis II to the pad! Just a few more hours to go," Isaacman wrote in a social media post.
"The NASA team behind the scenes making Artemis II possible. Thank you.," he added.
Artemis 2 rocket creeps along toward launch pad
NASA's Artemis 2 moon rocket, the second-ever Space Launch System booster, is slowly making progress along the 4-mile journey to its Florida pad at Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
It's a slow roll for the Artemis 2 SLS. NASA's giant Crawler Transporter 2 carrier vehicle is carrying the 11 million pound stack at about 1 mile an hour. That's it's top speed. The massive carrier vehicle was originally built to move NASA's Saturn V rockets in the Apollo era, and later moved space shuttles to the pad as well.
Here's a video of the 32-story rocket as it emerged from NASA's cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building earlier today.
Artemis 2 moon rocket emerges from giant hangar
As we near the 2-hour mark of NASA's up to 10-hour move of the Artemis 2 rocket to its Florida launch pad, the 322-foot-tall Space Launch System is fully visible and has exited its massive Vehicle Assembly Building hangar.
Above is an amazing image from Space.com's Josh Dinner at the Kennedy Space Center as he's monitoring the rollout to Pad 39B.
Here's a video update from Josh via the Space.com TikTok channel.
"The place is basically a rocket cathedral," Dinner says of the VAB.
First motion for Artemis 2 rollout!
NASA reports that the towering Artemis 2 Space Launch System rocket is officially on the move.
First motion for today's rollout occurred at 7:04 a.m. EST (1204 GMT) as the huge rocket began its daylong trip to the launch pad. It is about 4 miles to Pad 39B from NASA's 52-stroy Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where the SLS for Artemis 2 was stacked and assembled.
"It takes us a little while to get out of the building, but about an hour after we get that first motion, you'll begin to see this beautiful vehicle cross over the threshold of the VAB and come outside for the world to have a look," Artemis 2 Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said Friday.
Here's a look at our report from Friday's Artemis 2 press conference:
How to watch NASA's Artemis 2 rocket rollout
Now that we're all set for rollout, this will be our final post of the day.
Thanks for joining us and we'll see you bright an early on Saturday for rollout.
NASA Artemis 2 rollout briefing ends
Overall, it appears NASA is ready to move the 322-foot-tall Space Launch System rocket out to Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, Jan. 17, but time appears tight for the space agency's hope to launch the four Artemis 2 astronauts to the moon in February as planned.
Artemis 2 is NASA's first crewed Artemis mission and the first astronaut mission to the moon in over 50 years. As such, a series of tests on both the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft for the mission must go well before it will be clear for astronauts to fly on then.
NASA has launched an SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft before, on the Artemis 1 mission in November 2022, but that was an uncrewed test flight. The Orion spacecraft on Artemis 2 is the first to include many life support systems to sustain astronuts on the 10-day mission.
NASA also wants to complete a fueling test on Feb. 2 that will help the space agency decide if it can proceed with a February launch. The February launch window is limited to a series of days between Feb. 6-10.
It took three attempts to launch Artemis 1, with fuel leaks contributing to two delays. NASA believe its has fixes in place, but needs to test them before Artemis 2 can launch.
If Artemis 2 is unable to launch in February, NASA can try again in March and April.
Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said NASA has launch opportunities every month for Artemis 2, ranging from a few days to up to a week.
NASA Artemis 2 rollout press conference begins
- John Honeycutt, Artemis II mission management team chair
- Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, Exploration Ground Systems
- Jeff Radigan, Artemis II lead flight director, Flight Operations Directorate
- Lili Villarreal, landing and recovery director, Exploration Ground Systems
- Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate
"I will say, it really doesn't get much better than this," Honeycutt says in opening remarks." This is making history."
NASA to hold press conference on Artemis 2 rollout
Hello, Space Fans! NASA is one day away from its historic rollout of the Artemis 2 rocket that will carry four astronauts to the moon for the first time in over 50 years.
The Artemis 2 rocket, NASA's second Space Launch System booster, is currently scheduled to head out to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT). It should take several hours for the towering 322-foot rocket to reach the launch pad.
Space.com's Josh Dinner is on the scene at Kennedy Space Center for the Artemis 2 rollout, and will share insights on what the view is like there.
But first, NASA will hold a press conference today at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT) to discuss the Artemis 2 rollout, plans for the Feb. 6 launch of the 10-day mission around the moon.
You can watch that press conference live in the window above.
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