NASA readies Artemis II moon rocket rollout to Pad 39B

NASA is preparing to roll out the Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 17, with fueling tests planned for Feb. 2 and a potential launch during the Feb. 6–10 window for a 10-day crewed lunar mission. The 322-foot-tall rocket will take 8–10 hours to travel from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad, where it will be connected to pad infrastructure for fueling, followed by a series of checks before a possible February liftoff; if February slips, NASA could try again in March or April. Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years, carrying four astronauts around the Moon.