Science & Technology — 2026-03-19
NASA Rolls Artemis II Moon Rocket to Launch Pad Ahead of April 1 Crewed Lunar Mission
NASA began rolling the Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center on the evening of March 19, targeting an April 1 launch. The 4-mile journey takes approximately 10-12 hours at the Crawler Transporter's 1 mph pace. The crew, Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen, entered quarantine. This will be the first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years.
Analysis
The 0400 INTSUM reported crew quarantine and rollout finalization. Tonight's actual rollout to Pad 39B begins the final countdown sequence for the April 1 launch window, the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The 0400 INTSUM reported crew quarantine and rollout finalization. Tonight's actual rollout to Pad 39B begins the final countdown sequence for the April 1 launch window, the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.