Watch NASA roll out Artemis 2 moon rocket tonight ahead of April 1 launch
When you purchase through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Credit: NASA/Brandon Hancock
NASA will launch its Artemis 2 moon rocket to the launch pad tonight (March 19) ahead of the scheduled April 1 liftoff, and you can watch the action live.
THE Artemis 2 the battery will go Kennedy Space Center(KSC) this evening around 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT March 20) and head to Launch Pad 39B, which is approximately 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) away. The trip, made to the top of the NASA massif Tracked Transporter 2 vehicle, will take up to 12 hours.
You can watch the journey live here on Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency.
NASA deploys the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 2 lunar mission on January 17, 2026. | Credit: NASA/Brandon Hancock
This will be the second deployment of Artemis 2, which will launch four astronauts for a 10-day flight around the moon.
The first deployment took place January 17; two weeks later, the Artemis 2 team conducted a wet dress rehearsal (WDR), executing the mission flow. Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion the capsule crew put to the test on Pad 39B.
However, a liquid hydrogen propellant leak finished this two-day test a little early. Team members repaired the leak on the platform, replacing some seals in the affected area. They then performed another WDR, which Artemis 2 completed on February 19.
This success kept the mission on track for some time. launch scheduled for March 6. But on the night of February 20 to 21, the Artemis 2 team noticed a new problem: an interruption in the flow of helium in the upper stage of the SLS.
Mission leaders brought the Artemis 2 stack back to the VAB to troubleshoot and resolve this issue. earlier this month. Now everything is ready for a second deployment before a launch scheduled for April 1st.
There will be fewer hurdles to clear this time: NASA has said it does not plan to conduct another WDR after Artemis 2 returns to the platform.
The Artemis 2 astronauts are Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of NASA, as well as Jeremy Hansen of Canadian Space Agency. The quartet will be the first to venture beyond low earth orbit since the final Apollo mission in 1972.
If Artemis 2 cannot take off on April 1, NASA has other opportunities every day from April 2 to 6, as well as April 30. Another launch window opens in May, but the agency has yet to announce potential dates for that month.
