NASA Moon Rocket: February Launch?! What Happens Next is HUGE!

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Well, folks, it's finally happening. NASA's behemoth new moon rocket is making its slow crawl to the launch pad as I type this, signaling that a crewed lunar mission could be just around the corner – maybe even as early as February! It’s an exciting prospect, the first time in over half a century that astronauts will be flying around the moon.

NASA Moon Rocket: February Launch?! What Happens N...

The 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket started its journey at daybreak, inching its way at a snail's pace of 1 mph (1.6 kph) from the Vehicle Assembly Building here at Kennedy Space Center. This four-mile (six-kilometer) trek is expected to take all day, stretching into the night. You can feel the anticipation in the air here.

I was out there myself, along with thousands of space center employees and their families, braving the early morning chill to witness this long-awaited rollout. The SLS rocket finally emerging from that iconic building – the same one that housed the mighty Saturn V rockets back in the Apollo days – gave me goosebumps, I have to admit. It's a tangible link to that golden age of space exploration, and a powerful reminder of what we can achieve when we set our minds to it.

Leading the cheering crowd were NASA’s new administrator, Jared Isaacman, and, even more exciting, the four astronauts who will actually be on the Artemis II mission! Talk about inspiring. The sheer size of the thing is truly awe-inspiring. Weighing in at a staggering 11 million pounds (5 million kilograms), the SLS rocket and its Orion crew capsule are riding atop a crawler-transporter that's seen it all – Apollo, the Space Shuttle program, and now this. It's been upgraded, of course, to handle the SLS rocket’s immense weight.

Remember that uncrewed Orion capsule that went to the moon back in November 2022? That was the first and only previous SLS launch. "This one feels a lot different, putting crew on the rocket and taking the crew around the moon," NASA’s John Honeycutt said yesterday, and he's right. It's a whole new ballgame when there are lives on the line.

That first test flight uncovered some heat shield damage and other issues that needed addressing, which is why this crewed mission has been delayed until now. Safety first, of course. Now, it's important to note that these astronauts won’t be orbiting the moon or landing on its surface during *this* mission. That’s planned for the third flight in the Artemis program, a few years down the line. For now, this is a crucial fly-around mission, a vital step toward getting boots back on the lunar surface.

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and Christina Koch – all seasoned NASA veterans – will be joined by Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who's finally getting his chance to go to space. They'll be the first humans to venture near the moon since Apollo 17's Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt back in 1972. Think about that for a second.

Before we get too carried away, NASA still needs to conduct a fueling test of the SLS rocket at the launch pad in early February. Launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said that "will ultimately lay out our path toward launch." So, keep your fingers crossed! The space agency has a limited five-day launch window in the first half of February before facing a potential delay until March. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more. The journey back to the moon is underway!