After a hiatus of over five decades, teh Kennedy Space Center witnessed a historic moment on January 17, 2026, as the Space Launch system rocket for the Artemis II mission arrived at Launch Complex 39B . This marks a significant step toward returning humans to the Moon, with the mission slated to send four astronauts on a lunar flyby as early as February 6 . The Artemis II mission, utilizing the Orion spacecraft “Integrity,” builds upon the success of the uncrewed Artemis I and represents a crucial test flight of NASA’s next-generation deep space exploration systems .
After a hiatus of over half a century, a rocket capable of carrying humans to the Moon is once again on the launchpad. The last such mission, Apollo 17, took flight in December 1972. Now, 53 years later, the Artemis II mission is poised to send four astronauts on a lunar flyby aboard the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity. For many, including this reporter, who were born after the Apollo program, the event carries a particular sense of excitement.
On January 17, 2026, NASA moved the second Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the Artemis II mission – the program’s second flight – from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Similar to the Apollo missions, the journey to the launchpad for the Artemis program began at a maximum speed of 1.3 kilometers per hour, propelled by the crawler-transporter carrying the SLS and Orion spacecraft on its mobile platform. The move commenced at 12:04 UTC and concluded at 23:42 UTC.
The crawler-transporter, designated CT-2, is itself a relic of the Apollo era. It was positioned beneath Mobile Launcher 1 (ML1), upon which the SLS and Orion had been assembled. Once the platform was supported at four points, the transporter began its 6.8-kilometer trek from the VAB’s High Bay 3 to Launch Complex 39B, a process that took approximately twelve hours. The transport paused shortly after leaving the VAB to retract the crew access arm and slowed as it approached the intersection leading to Complex 39B. Once in position, the platform was lowered onto its supports, and the transporter moved away.
The CT-2 crawler-transporter began construction in March 1963 for the Apollo program and, after serving in the Space Shuttle program between 1981 and 2011, underwent modifications and testing starting in 2016 for use with the SLS/Orion system. The CT-2 measures 40 meters in length and 35 meters in width, with a mass of 3,000 tons. While ML-1 served as a mobile platform during the Space Shuttle era, the Artemis program added a launch tower, mirroring the configuration used during Apollo. The tower stands 105 meters tall – the SLS/Orion rocket itself is 98 meters – reaching a total height of 116 meters above the ground. The total mass of the ML1 platform and the SLS/Orion assembly without propellant is approximately 6,800 tons. This infrastructure represents a significant investment in the future of space exploration.
The move occurred just over a year after the integration of the SLS rocket for the Artemis II mission began within the VAB, a process that started in July 2024 with the arrival of the launcher’s core stage. Vertical integration of the solid rocket booster (SRB) segments began on November 20, and was completed on February 19, 2025. The core stage was connected to the SRBs on March 23, and the intertank adapter for the second stage ICPS was added on April 12. The ICPS stage was put in place on May 1, 2025, and the Orion adapter ring – which will house four cubesats – was installed by the end of September. Finally, on October 17, the Orion Integrity spacecraft for Artemis II, along with the Launch Abort System (LAS), was transported to the VAB and placed atop the rocket, completing the SLS/Orion assembly for Artemis II.
With the crew having already participated in a launch simulation in December, the next critical step is to conduct a Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR), simulating all launch day procedures up to 20 seconds before liftoff (without crew participation). NASA believes it has resolved the issues encountered during the Artemis I mission, which experienced repeated hydrogen leaks that delayed launch several times. The WDR is scheduled to take place, at the latest, on February 2, if NASA aims to attempt a launch on the first day of the Artemis II launch window – February 6. If the WDR cannot be completed before February 2, or if issues arise requiring further testing, the launch will inevitably be postponed. Artemis II has potential launch dates of February 6, 7, 8, 10, and 11. If those dates are not viable, the next opportunities are March 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11. Should a launch not occur by then, the rocket will need to be returned to the VAB. Each day, the launch window will be two hours long.
Artemis II will be the tenth crewed mission to travel to the Moon and the first this century. It will also be the second crewed lunar mission to launch from Launch Complex 39B, following Apollo 10. All other Apollo missions to the Moon launched from the neighboring Complex 39A, now operated by SpaceX. Complex 39B also hosted three crewed missions to Skylab using Saturn IB rockets and 53 Space Shuttle missions. In 2009, it was used for the test launch of the Ares I-X rocket from the canceled Constellation program, and, of course, in 2022, Artemis I, the first flight of the SLS, lifted off from the same pad. Hopefully, all goes well and Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will launch in February toward the Moon and enjoy their ten-day mission without incident. We’ve waited over half a century, but we’re finally going back to the Moon.
