Artemis II rolls toward its moon mission with a 4-mile rollout to Launch Pad 39B

NASA will roll the Artemis II stack — the Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule — from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 17, a roughly 4-mile rollout that should take 8–10 hours starting as early as 7 a.m. EST. The crewed mission will carry Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day lunar flyby. After rollout, NASA plans a wet dress rehearsal around Feb. 2 to validate fueling and countdown ahead of launch opportunities later this year, with windows in February, March and April; Space.com and NASA will stream the rollout live. Artemis I’s hydrogen leaks are cited as a reminder of the meticulous checks required before liftoff.