Artemis 2 rocket rollout latest news: NASA begins rollout for giant moon rocket

NASA’s Artemis 2 moon rocket, the second-ever Space Launch System booster, is slowly making progress along the 4-mile journey to its Florida pad at Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

It’s a slow roll for the Artemis 2 SLS. NASA’s giant Crawler Transporter 2 carrier vehicle is carrying the 11 million pound stack at about 1 mile an hour. That’s it’s top speed. The massive carrier vehicle was originally built to move NASA’s Saturn V rockets in the Apollo era, and later moved space shuttles to the pad as well.

Here’s a video of the 32-story rocket as it emerged from NASA’s cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building earlier today.

As we near the 2-hour mark of NASA’s up to 10-hour move of the Artemis 2 rocket to its Florida launch pad, the 322-foot-tall Space Launch System is fully visible and has exited its massive Vehicle Assembly Building hangar.

Above is an amazing image from Space.com’s Josh Dinner at the Kennedy Space Center as he’s monitoring the rollout to Pad 39B.

Here’s a video update from Josh via the Space.com TikTok channel.

“The place is basically a rocket cathedral,” Dinner says of the VAB.

Tariq Malik

NASA reports that the towering Artemis 2 Space Launch System rocket is officially on the move.

First motion for today’s rollout occurred at 7:04 a.m. EST (1204 GMT) as the huge rocket began its daylong trip to the launch pad. It is about 4 miles to Pad 39B from NASA’s 52-stroy Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where the SLS for Artemis 2 was stacked and assembled.

“It takes us a little while to get out of the building, but about an hour after we get that first motion, you’ll begin to see this beautiful vehicle cross over the threshold of the VAB and come outside for the world to have a look,” Artemis 2 Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said Friday.

Here’s a look at our report from Friday’s Artemis 2 press conference:

NASA hopes to launch Artemis 2 astronauts to the moon next month, but it’s going to be tight: ‘This is not a rush’

Tariq Malik

With NASA’s Artemis 2 moon rocket is ready to roll out to the launch pad, you may be wondering if you’ll be able to watch it live online on Saturday, Jan. 17. Well, yes. Yes, you can.

NASA’s livestream of the Artemis 2 roll out will begin at 7 a.m. EST (1100 GMT) and will be available in the window at the top of this page. You can also watch it directly from NASA via YouTube.

Here’s our full guide from Spaceflight Editor Mike Wall:

Watch NASA roll huge Artemis 2 moon rocket out to the launch pad on Jan. 17

And here is a bit of a preview from our reporter on the seen, Josh Dinner:

NASA’s Artemis II Live Views from Kennedy Space Center – YouTube

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Now that we’re all set for rollout, this will be our final post of the day.

Thanks for joining us and we’ll see you bright an early on Saturday for rollout.

NASA hopes to launch Artemis 2 astronauts to the moon next month, but it’s going to be tight: ‘This is not a rush’

NASA’s Artemis 2 moon rocket rollout preview press conference has ended.

You can see a replay in the window below.

NASA’s Artemis II Rollout and Mission Overview News Conference (Jan. 16, 2026) – YouTube

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Overall, it appears NASA is ready to move the 322-foot-tall Space Launch System rocket out to Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, Jan. 17, but time appears tight for the space agency’s hope to launch the four Artemis 2 astronauts to the moon in February as planned.

Artemis 2 is NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission and the first astronaut mission to the moon in over 50 years. As such, a series of tests on both the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft for the mission must go well before it will be clear for astronauts to fly on then.

NASA has launched an SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft before, on the Artemis 1 mission in November 2022, but that was an uncrewed test flight. The Orion spacecraft on Artemis 2 is the first to include many life support systems to sustain astronuts on the 10-day mission.

NASA also wants to complete a fueling test on Feb. 2 that will help the space agency decide if it can proceed with a February launch. The February launch window is limited to a series of days between Feb. 6-10.

It took three attempts to launch Artemis 1, with fuel leaks contributing to two delays. NASA believe its has fixes in place, but needs to test them before Artemis 2 can launch.

If Artemis 2 is unable to launch in February, NASA can try again in March and April.

Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said NASA has launch opportunities every month for Artemis 2, ranging from a few days to up to a week.

Tariq Malik

NASA officials say the Artemis 2 moon rocket is ready to head out to its Florida launch pad early tomorrow, but it will be a slow trip.

The Artemis 2 Space Launch System will take between 8 to 10 hours to make the 4-mile trip from NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B. Once the the rocket makes it to the pad, NASA will then connect it to pad infrastructure for fueling atop its Mobile Launch Platform.

NASA’s huge Crawler Carrier vehicle – originally built for the Apollo Saturn V missions (like the VAB) – will haul the rocket and launch platform out to the pad.

Artemis 2 Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson says NASA plans to conduct a fueling test, called a “wet dress rehearsal,” on Feb. 2. Based on the rocket’s performance during that test, NASA will decide if Artemis 2 will be ready for a Feb. 6 launch.

The February launch window runs from Feb. 6 to Feb. 10. In addition to the fueling tests, NASA will need to perform a series of SLS and Orion spacecraft checks, as well a run through with Artemis 2 astronaut crew.

Tariq Malik

NASA’s press conference on the Artemis 2 moon rocket has begun. You can watch it live on this page, as well as on NASA’s YouTube here.

Speaking during the event are:

• John Honeycutt, Artemis II mission management team chair
• Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, Exploration Ground Systems
• Jeff Radigan, Artemis II lead flight director, Flight Operations Directorate
• Lili Villarreal, landing and recovery director, Exploration Ground Systems
• Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate

“I will say, it really doesn’t get much better than this,” Honeycutt says in opening remarks.” This is making history.”

Tariq Malik

NASA’s Artemis II Rollout and Mission Overview News Conference (Jan. 16, 2026) – YouTube

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Hello, Space Fans! NASA is one day away from its historic rollout of the Artemis 2 rocket that will carry four astronauts to the moon for the first time in over 50 years.

The Artemis 2 rocket, NASA’s second Space Launch System booster, is currently scheduled to head out to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT). It should take several hours for the towering 322-foot rocket to reach the launch pad.

Space.com’s Josh Dinner is on the scene at Kennedy Space Center for the Artemis 2 rollout, and will share insights on what the view is like there.

But first, NASA will hold a press conference today at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT) to discuss the Artemis 2 rollout, plans for the Feb. 6 launch of the 10-day mission around the moon.

You can watch that press conference live in the window above.

Tariq Malik