Artemis 1 Rocket Rollout Should Happen This Week

NASA has confirmed that the rollout of the massive Artemis 1 rocket is expected to happen this week. The rollout is on track to happen on Thursday, March 17. The rocket will be ferried to the launching pad on the massive Crawler-Transporter 2 vehicle.

The journey from its current location to launchpad 39B and Kennedy Space Center in Florida is four miles long. Once the rocket and the Orion capsule arrive at the launchpad, they will begin to be prepared to launch on a mission that will send the capsule on orbit around the moon.

The launch is currently expected to happen no earlier than May. Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said, “We are in very good shape and ready to proceed with this roll.”

The rollout will begin at 5 PM EDT on Thursday, and the four-mile journey will take 11 hours. The massive crawler moves at less than one mph when loaded. While the crawler itself is more than five decades old, it has been upgraded for Artemis duty, and NASA says it has been thoroughly tested.