Artemis I Launch Rollout Rocket on Pad

With NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crawler-transporter 2 is seen in the foreground as it is driven slowly along the crawlerway from the pad on Aug. 19, 2022. The SLS rocket and Orion are scheduled to launch no earlier than Aug. 29, 2022, at 8:33 a.m. EDT. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.