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Artemis II: Nasa rolls out moon rocket with crew for first time
Footage of the rocket moving into position
Reid Wiseman, the crew commander, said: “What a great day to be here. It is indeed awe-inspiring.”
Weighing in at 5m kg,the rocket and Orion crew capsule on top made the move onboard a massive transporter that was used during the Apollo and shuttle eras. It was upgraded for the SLS rocket’s extra heft.
The first and only other SLS launch, which sent an empty Orion capsule into orbit around the moon, took place in november 2022. This mission was known as artemis I.
“This one feels a lot different,putting crew on the rocket and taking the crew around the moon,” Nasa’s John Honeycutt said on the eve of the rocket’s rollout.
Heat shield damage and other capsule problems during the initial test flight required extensive analyses and tests, pushing back this first crew moonshot until now. The astronauts will not orbit the moon or even land on it. That giant leap will come on the third flight in the Artemis lineup a few years from now.Currently, artemis III, the landing mission, is planned for late 2026.
Wiseman, the pilot Victor Glover and Christina Koch, all longtime Nasa astronauts with
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