Artemis 2 Rocket Completes Historic Rollout to Launch Pad Ahead of February Moon Mission

NASA's Artemis 2 Space Launch System (SLS) rocket completed an 8- to 10-hour journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex-39B at Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 17, 2024. Standing 322 feet (98 meters) tall and weighing approximately 2,870 tons when fueled, the SLS produces 8.8 million pounds of thrust via two space shuttle-era solid rocket boosters and four RS-25 engines.

The mission, scheduled to launch no earlier than Feb. 6, 2024, will carry four astronauts—NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen—on a 10-day lunar flyby using Orion's free-return trajectory.

This trajectory ensures the spacecraft can return to Earth without propulsion if anomalies occur, a critical safety feature for crewed missions.

Artemis 2 serves as a precursor to Artemis 3, which aims to land astronauts on the moon's south polar region by no earlier than 2027. A wet dress rehearsal is planned for Feb. 2, 2024, to test launch procedures.

NASA officials have expressed confidence in avoiding delays similar to Artemis 1's 2022-2023 campaign, which encountered hydrogen leaks and weather-related setbacks.