The Space Launch System (SLS rocket) is ready to roll out to the launch pad on January 17. According to NASA, mission teams are targeting no earlier than 5:30 pm IST [7 a.m. EST] to haul the rocket out of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The rollout is to practice launch countdown and wet dress rehearsal for the crewed Artemis II Moon mission targeted for launch on February 6.
Our @NASAArtemis Moon rocket is ready to roll! We’re targeting no earlier than 7am ET (1200 UTC) on Saturday, Jan. 17, to begin the rocket’s journey at @NASAKennedy from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B. https://t.co/HEMM8BMH2O pic.twitter.com/IPiX3mJxOm
— NASA (@NASA) January 16, 2026
“NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 will carry the 11-million-pound stack at about one mile per hour along the four-mile route to Launch Pad 39B. The journey will take up to 12 hours. The time of rollout is subject to change if additional time is needed for technical preparations or weather,” NASA said in a statement.
NASA will also livestream the rollout and organise press gaggle involving administrator Jared Isaacman and the Artemis II astronauts. You can watch it live on the agency’s YouTube channel, X account, NASA+ and Amazon Prime.
However, there are a few criteria that need to be met before the rocket’s journey begins to the launch pad. The rollout receives a go-ahead if lightning forecast is under 10% within 20 nautical miles of launch pad, if there’s less than 5% chance of hail forecast, if sustained winds are under 40 knots and peak winds under 45 knots and if temperature is over 4.4°C or less than 35°C.
“Rollout to the pad marks another milestone leading up to the Artemis II mission. In the coming weeks, NASA will complete final preparations of the rocket and, if needed, rollback SLS and Orion to the Vehicle Assembly Building for additional work,” NASA said.
NASA gears up for Artemis II
The Artemis II launch window opens as early as February 6 and runs until April 6. Once the rocket is out on the pad, mission teams will conduct the wet dress rehearsal (loading the rocket with propellant), assess launch readiness, launch infrastructure, and the crew and operations teams before finalising a launch date.
Artemis II will be NASA’s first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 which launched in 1972. Four astronauts – Reid Wiseman (mission commander), Victor Glover (mission pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist) and Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist) – will fly around the Moon and return without landing in 10 days. The objective of Artemis II is to test the Orion spacecraft and its life support systems plus other key components in deep space with humans onboard.
The SLS rocket made its debut with Artemis I in November 2022 – becoming the most powerful launch vehicle in existence at the time. Orion, on the other hand, performed well for the most part, although it did go offline once in space and its heatshield eroded more than expected.
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