NASA’s Artemis I Moon Rocket to Depart Launch Pad 39B Today

Crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) makes its way along the crawlerway to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In view atop the mobile launcher on the pad are the Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

At approximately 5:30 p.m. ET today, NASA’s Artemis I Moon rocket atop the crawler-transporter is scheduled to leave launch pad 39B and begin its 4-mile trek to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

Once inside the VAB, teams will work on replacing a faulty upper stage check valve and a small leak within the tail service mast umbilical ground plate housing on the mobile launcher while the supplier for the gaseous nitrogen makes upgrades to their pipeline configuration to support Artemis I testing and launch. Following completion, teams will return to the launch pad to complete the next wet dress rehearsal attempt. 

The NASA Kennedy Twitter account will release an update once the roll has begun. Watch a live stream of the rocket departing the pad and arriving at VAB on the Kennedy Newsroom YouTube channel and check back here for updates.