NASA’s Artemis II Rocket Arrives at Launch Pad 39B At 11:21 a.m. EDT on Friday, March 20, NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft reached Launch Pad 39B after an 11-hour journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The integrated rocket and spacecraft were transported on crawler-transporter 2, which began its 4-mile trek at 12:20 a.m. EDT. Moving at a maximum speed of 0.82 mph, the crawler carried the 322-foot-tall rocket and spacecraft slowly toward the launch pad. With the rocket now positioned at Pad 39B, NASA teams are preparing for the final phase of prelaunch activities ahead of the scheduled launch as early as Wednesday, April 1. The early April launch window includes multiple opportunities through Monday, April 6. Artemis II’s crew, consisting of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, will embark on a 10-day mission to orbit the Moon and return to Earth. The Artemis II mission marks a key milestone in NASA’s efforts to advance human exploration. As part of the agency’s vision for a Golden Age of innovation and exploration, the mission represents progress toward future U.S.-crewed missions to the Moon’s surface. These missions aim to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon, serving as a stepping stone for eventual missions to Mars. The Artemis program’s focus on lunar exploration is designed to develop the technologies and capabilities necessary for long-term space exploration beyond Earth’s orbit.#nasa #kennedy_space_center #artemis_ii #crawler_transporter_2 #reid_wiseman
