After a month of sitting out on LC-39B, NASA’s first Space Launch System Moon rocket will be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building after failing to finish its Wet Dress Rehearsal three times. NASA will fix the faulty equipment and roll the rocket back out for another attempt.
Expand Expanding Close
The first launch of SLS, on Artemis I, has been a long time coming. With the SLS that will launch for Artemis I at the pad for its wet dress rehearsal, teams have resumed the test that was cut short last week due to valve issues.
Expand Expanding Close
Over the next 24 hours, NASA teams will begin to move the agency’s fully stacked Space Launch System rocket to LC-39B for the very first time. After decades of redesigns and delays, the rocket has finally been assembled and will be at its launch site in a final testing stage before its inaugural launch. Follow below with our rollout tracker of SLS’s progress across NASA’s Crawlerway as it makes the slow journey.
Update: Reached LC-39B
Expand Expanding Close
After years of delays and cost overruns, the much-anticipated Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft are set to roll out to Launch Complex 39B on Thursday, March 17 at the Kennedy Space Center.
Update: Stream time changed to 5:45 p.m. EDT (delayed 45 minutes)
Expand Expanding Close
Today NASA confirmed that it is prepared to support the rollout of the Space Launch System rocket from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B on March 17 at 5 p.m. EDT. The roll is expected to take around 11 hours from start to hard down at the pad. After years of waiting and delays, we are about to see this beast of a vehicle roll for the first time.
Expand Expanding Close
NASA is on track to conduct its first mission of the new Artemis lunar exploration program sometime in spring 2022. It’s been a long time coming for the space agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. It appears the historic first flight of SLS will have to wait a little longer, however, as NASA buys more time to complete prep work before liftoff.
Expand Expanding Close
We are inching closer and closer to the long-awaited launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. Engineers just completed another milestone test working towards seeing SLS roll out from the VAB for the first time.
Expand Expanding Close
If the schedule holds, NASA is gearing up to launch its first Artemis mission as soon as February 2022. The “Orange Rocket,” as it is sometimes called, pulls a lot of old hardware and launch sequences from the iconic Space Shuttle.
Expand Expanding Close
On Monday, NASA’s Office of Inspector General released a report detailing their finding during an audit of the Agency’s Artemis missions. The results are full of information on Starship and predicted timelines for Artemis I through III.
Expand Expanding Close
LEGO and NASA made their announcement today, and sadly no, it is not a LEGO Space Launch System set, but it is something very cool!
Expand Expanding Close
NASA and LEGO are preparing for some sort of announcement on November 8, and fans are guessing about what it could be.
Expand Expanding Close
NASA representatives released launch windows for the agency’s Artemis I mission, launching on the newly stacked Space Launch System, in a call with the media.
Expand Expanding Close
Earlier this year, we reported that NASA was planning on constructing the Mobile Launcher 2 tower sections on a plot of land located in Port Canaveral. Now it appears that this site has relocated to Kennedy Space Center.
Expand Expanding Close
Artemis I is finally within view as SLS nears completion. Wednesday, the Orion capsule was lifted onto the SLS rocket within the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Expand Expanding Close
It has been a shockingly busy past week in space. From continued work towards Artemis I, to spacecraft reaching new planets, a lot has happened in the world of spaceflight and space exploration.
Expand Expanding Close
NASA has just completed modal testing with the mass simulator on the SLS rocket for Artemis I. With this testing complete, operations can move forward in preparation for rollout to SLC-39B.
Expand Expanding Close
This week, the Space Force gained a new look, NASA human spaceflight leadership has been divided, and preparations continue for Artemis I.
Expand Expanding Close
Artemis III landing on the Moon in 2024 has always been a lofty goal, but NASA officials stuck to the date even as the previous administration left. Today, they began to officially acknowledge the breakdown of the deadline.
Expand Expanding Close
SLS is undergoing testing ahead of Orion integration and rollout for the Wet Dress Rehearsal for the Artemis 1 mission. But it’s not only Orion going to the Moon. 13 CubeSats are tagging along, at least now it’s 13…
Expand Expanding Close
NASA teams are racing towards the first launch of the SLS rocket at Kennedy Space Center. The final pieces needed for sull stack testing were installed a few days ago, the Orion stage adapter structural test article, and Orion Mass Simulator. The full stack of SLS is expected to roll out to LC-39B for further testing and a Wet Dress Rehearsal.
Expand Expanding Close
NASA is sending astronauts back to the Moon for the first since Apollo 17 in 1972. The new space exploration program is called Artemis, and the first Artemis mission is just months away from happening. A new report though begs the question of when will NASA truly launch Artemis 1?
Expand Expanding Close
NASA Astronaut Victor Glover visited NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to get a tour of the SLS rocket being stacked in the VAB.
Expand Expanding Close
NASA recently conducted an important 8-minute RS-25 single-engine hot fire test at Stennis Space Center in South Mississippi. Space Launch System (SLS) relies on four RS-25 engines (and two solid rocket boosters) to leave the planet for destinations like the Moon and beyond as part of NASA’s Artemis program.
Expand Expanding Close
It’s a slow process but NASA is stacking their first Space Launch System rocket in the VAB at Kennedy Space Center. The newest part was just stacked in the last few days.
Expand Expanding Close