NASA’s massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft set atop has finally arrived at Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of one final test before its Artemis I Moon mission. This was quite the task, as the rocket was stacked on the mobile launcher and then mounted on the crawler-transporter for a journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B. In all, it happened over a 10-hour and 28 minute time period to reach the launch pad 4-miles away. Read more for a video and additional information.
The final test, officially called the wet dress rehearsal, will involve the Artemis I launch team going through operations to load propellant into the rocket’s tanks, conducting a full launch countdown, demonstrating the ability to recycle the countdown clock, and then draining the tanks to practice the timelines as well as procedures that will be used for the launch.
- Bring to life the rocket launch that took humans to the moon with the meter-high (approximately 1: 110 scale) model rocket of the NASA Apollo Saturn V
- The Saturn V rocket kit includes 3 removable rocket stages (first, s-ii second, and s-ivb third) below the launch escape system, command and service...
- After building the Saturn V rocket, you can display the spacecraft horizontally with 3 stands; The Lunar Lander docks with the command and service...
Rolling out of the Vehicle Assembly Building is an iconic moment for this rocket and spacecraft, and this is a key milestone for NASA. Now at the pad for the first time, we will use the integrated systems to practice the launch countdown and load the rocket with the propellants it needs to send Orion on a lunar journey in preparation for launch,” said Tom Whitmeyer, deputy associate administrator for Common Exploration Systems Development at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
