NASA’s massive Space Launch System rocket crept toward its Florida launch pad today at a top speed of about 1 mph, marking the first step in a journey that will eventually send astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
The 4-mile trek to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center began at 7 a.m. ET (4 a.m. PT) and was expected to take about 12 hours. Because the rocket stands 322 feet tall and weighs millions of pounds, the trip requires the use of a crawler-transporter — the same vehicle used for the Apollo and space shuttle programs, now upgraded for NASA’s Artemis moon program.
Liftoff for the Artemis 2 mission could come as early as Feb. 6, but there’s lots to be done in the weeks ahead. After today’s rollout, the mission team will conduct a thorough checkout of the Space Launch System and its Orion crew spacecraft. Then there’ll be a “wet dress rehearsal,” during which the launch team will fuel the rocket and count down to T-minus 29 seconds.
“We have, I think, zero intention of communicating an actual launch date until we get through wet dress,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told reporters.
Artemis 2 is slated to send three NASA astronauts and one Canadian astronaut on a 10-day journey tracing a figure-8 route around the moon. The trip will take them as far as 4,800 miles beyond the lunar far side — farther out than any human has gone before.
One of the crew members, Christina Koch, recalled an exchange she had with Apollo 13’s Fred Haise at a commemorative event. “Before I even said, ‘Hello, sir, great to see you,’ he goes, ‘I heard you’re going to break our record,’” she said.
Mission commander Reid Wiseman said he’s already seeing the moon in a different light.
“One of the most magical things for me in this experience is, when I looked out a few mornings ago, there was a beautiful crescent in the morning sunrise, and I truly just see the far side,” he said. “You just think about all the landmarks we’ve been studying on that far side, and how amazing that will look. And seeing Earthrise, just flipping the moon over and seeing it from the other perspective, is what I think when I look out right now.”
Although Artemis 2 will be historic in its own right, the mission’s main purpose is to prepare the way for Artemis 3, which will put humans on the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. That mission is officially set for no earlier than mid-2027, but industry experts expect the schedule to slip.
During today’s news briefing, Isaacman took an even longer view. “This is the start of a very long journey,” he said. “I hope someday my kids are going to be watching, maybe decades into the future, the Artemis 100 mission.”
Isaacman, who served as the billionaire CEO of the Shift4 payment processing company before becoming NASA’s chief last month, said that America’s space effort is sending humans back to the moon “to figure out the orbital and lunar economy, for all of the science and discovery possibilities that are out there, to inspire my kids, your kids, kids all around the world, to want to grow up and contribute to this unbelievable endeavor that we’re on right now.”
Several companies with a presence in the Seattle area are already involved in that lunar economy. For example, L3Harris’ facility in Redmond has been building sets of thrusters for NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Seattle-based Interlune is planning to bring helium-3 and other lunar resources back to Earth. And Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, headquartered in Kent, is building a Blue Moon lander that’s meant to put Artemis crews on the lunar surface starting in 2030.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is expected to send an uncrewed cargo version of the Blue Moon lander to the moon sometime in the next few months. Isaacman hinted that Blue Origin could be in for a bigger role in the lunar economy as the Artemis program hits its stride.
“I will say I did meet with both Blue Origin and SpaceX on their acceleration plans. These are both very good plans,” he said. “If we are on track, we should be watching an awful lot of New Glenns and Starships launch in the years ahead.”
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