NASA is preparing to roll out the Artemis II rocket and Orion space capsule to its launch pad at Kennedy Space Center on 19 March 2026.
This marks the second Artemis II roll-out, after NASA decided to roll the rocket assembly back into the Vehicle Assembly Building on 25 February 2026 for further testing.
More on Artemis II
NASA says the rocket and its four-person crew are "all making progress toward a launch pad meet up in April."
You can watch the whole event via the livestream below.
Why is NASA rolling Artemis II out for a second time?
NASA says its engineers are targeting 20:00 EDT on Thursday 19 March (00:00 UTC on 20 March) for the second roll-out of the Artemis II Space Launch System and Orion capsule.
This is the second time the Artemis II rocket assembly has been rolled out.
Here's a timeline of the events so far:
- 17 January: Artemis II completed its initial rollout to Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, ahead of its proposed launch date
- 31 January: NASA conducted the first wet dress rehearsal of the Artemis II mission, which saw ground teams and engineers practise the key stages of launch day, but without the astronauts on board. This rehearsal concluded on 2 February due to a hydrogen fuel leak
- 19 February: NASA completed a 'successful' second wet dress rehearsal, but later noted an issue around helium flow to the rocket's upper stage
- 25 February: NASA rolled the Space Launch System and Orion capsule back into the Vehicle Assembly Building to address the helium flow issue
- 19 March: NASA plans to begin the second rollout of the Artemis II stack to prepare for a targeted launch on 1 April 2026
What happens during rollout?
With the rocket, capsule, tower and crawler combined, the whole Artemis II assembly weighs over 21 million pounds, or 9.5 million kg, and stands about 322 feet, or 98 metres tall.
That's why it will take about 12 hours to make the 4-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad.
The rocket, capsule and tower are then loaded onto the launchpad, before engineers begin connecting the rocket to ground systems for power, communications and fuelling.
The Artemis II crew entered quarantine on Wednesday 19 March in Houston, where they will remain out of contact with the rest of the world, to stay fit and healthy ahead of launch.
Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will fly to Kennedy Space Center about five days before launch to continue quarantine from the astronaut crew quarters there.
The Artemis II journey
After launch, the Artemis II crew's Orion capsule will separate from the Space Launch System rocket and enter Earth orbit.
Once they get the go-ahead, they'll fire their engines to break out of Earth orbit and begin their journey to the Moon.
They'll fly around the Moon, travelling further into space than any human before them, and will be greeted by views of the far side of the Moon that no astronaut has ever seen before.
That's because they'll be travelling much further beyond the Moon than the Apollo astronauts did.
While the Apollo crews got close-up views of the lunar surface, the Artemis II crew will be so far from the Moon, they'll be able to see the whole far side in one go.
They'll then use the Moon's gravity to slingshot their Orion capsule back to Earth, for safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, 10 days after launch.
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