NASA to Move Artemis 2 Rocket to Launch Pad for Lunar Mission in January 2024
NASA plans to transport its 98-meter Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida starting January 17, 2024, weather permitting. The move will be conducted using a crawler-transporter and is expected to take up to 12 hours over a distance of approximately six kilometers.
Following this transport, final testing and rehearsals will be conducted before the second test flight of the Artemis program, which aims to send four astronauts on a ten-day lunar mission. The mission includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen.
The launch is currently scheduled between February 6 and April 6, 2024, with potential delays due to weather or technical issues. The mission is part of the U.S. goal to establish a presence on the Moon by 2028, as outlined in an executive order signed by Donald Trump.
