BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Launch day isn’t until Tuesday, but on Monday the Atlas V rocket went on a small mission: The slow crawl from the vertical integration facility to the launch site.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

The 3-million-pound, 225-foot-tall rocket crawled at just over 2 mph as it toward Launch Complex 41.

READ: Axiom Mission 1: NASA to preview first private astronaut mission to ISS

After launching, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite will take the name GOES-18. It’ll eventually take the position of the most recently launched satellite, now off Hawaii, which had occasional failures.

READ: Europe’s joint Mars mission with Russia postponed by war

With a redesigned system, the new satellite will see from New Zealand all the way to the East Coast of the United States, tracking storms systems approaching from the Pacific.

READ: Russia attacks Ukraine: Satellite images show 17-mile Russian convoy advance on Kyiv (live updates)

The launch window opens at 4:48 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. It will be carried on Channel 9 and here on WFTV.com.

>>>CLICK HERE TO WATCH<<<

Video: NASA sets date for first rollout of Artemis 1 moon mission rocket The date is set for the rollout of NASA’s massive Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft ahead of the Artemis 1 launch. (WFTV)

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

©2022 Cox Media Group