NASA hauls Artemis II moon rocket to launch pad for February flight

January 19, 2026

TL;DR

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the most powerful operational booster globally, has been transported to launch pad 39B in Florida.
The Artemis II mission, scheduled for early February, will send four astronauts on a lunar flyby mission.
This mission will test the Orion crew capsule in Earth orbit before the crew ventures farther from Earth than any humans have before.
The SLS rocket is capable of generating 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, surpassing NASA's Saturn 5.
A critical fueling test, known as a 'wet' dress rehearsal, will occur around February 2nd.
Potential launch windows in February exist on the 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th, but delays might push the launch to March.
A wildcard in mission planning is the scheduled launch of a new crew to the International Space Station, which NASA wants to avoid overlapping with the Artemis II launch.
NASA plans to announce a launch date only after the successful completion of the 'wet' dress rehearsal.

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