KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — 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, an uncrewed mission around the moon.
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NASA is planning to move the SLS and Orion to their launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center on March 17 at 6 p.m.
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Nasa announced Thursday that it will take about an hour to move SLS and Orion from their high bay to just outside the Vehicle Assembly Building.
The moon-ready rocket will venture on the ground at a top speed of .82 MPH for the 4-mile trip to the launch pad at Launch Complex 39-B.
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After some preparation, teams will conduct a wet dress rehearsal, the final major test ahead of the launch.
The wet dress will run the rocket and launch team through operations to load the propellant into the fuel tanks and conduct a full countdown ending in a scrub.
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The SLS and Orion could spend about a month on the pad between rollout and rollback to the VAB, for final checkouts ahead of the first integrated flight around the moon.
A launch date for the Artemis 1 mission won’t be set until after the wet dress rehearsal.
See more in the video above.
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