David Willis@ThePrimalDinoArtemis II full SLS rocket stacking time-lapse
Dec 31, 2025Early 2026 is when NASA aims to launch its astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremey Hansen on the Artemis 2 mission around the Moon and back.For more than two years at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency has been assembling the various pieces of the 322-foot-tall Space Launch System rocket, topped with the Orion spacecraft, that will carry the four astronauts on a ten-day journey. Now that the rocket is complete, here's a comprehensive overview of how the launch vehicle came together, piece by piece, as the mission's launch date was impacted by launch delays, stemming from learnings derived from the Artemis 1 mission in November 2022.Additional video from NASA.Chapters:00:00 Introduction00:32 It began with a train...01:42 Mission delayed03:19 Core stage arrival03:48 VAB stacking begins04:12 Mission delayed, again05:36 Core stage on the move05:45 Industry day update07:42 Solid rocket booster stacking picks up07:55 Core stage final move08:16 Upper stage assembly08:43 Orion hits the road10:00 Conclusion
NASA's Kennedy Space Center@NASAKennedyNearly 12 months of work captured in 3 minutes! During the past year, teams inside Kennedy's iconic Vehicle Assembly Building stacked the Artemis II rocket and spacecraft — the hardware that will send four astronauts around the Moon and pave the way for the future of lunar exploration! 🚀🌕
https://twitter.com/NASASpox/status/2007199183057400008QuoteBethany Stevens@NASASpox·🚨Mission Update: Rollout for Artemis II is less than two weeks away.This milestone begins final, system-wide testing as NASA prepares to send astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, with a launch window opening as soon as February 6.
Bethany Stevens@NASASpox·🚨Mission Update: Rollout for Artemis II is less than two weeks away.This milestone begins final, system-wide testing as NASA prepares to send astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, with a launch window opening as soon as February 6.
Scheduled for Jan 17, 2026 #artemis #sls #orionNASA is rolling the SLS/Orion Stack for Artemis II atop Crawler Transporter 2 (CT-2) to Pad 39B at KSC in a key milestone ahead of its Wet Dress Rehearsal and potential February launch, the first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years.
Daily launch windows are now available: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/artemis-ii-mission-availability.pdfAll dates between February and April, except for April 1st and April 30th, have night launch windows - earliest one is February 7 02:41-04:41 UTC (February 6 9:41-11:41 pm EST).
NASA Artemis@NASAArtemis·Knock knock! 🚪NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 recently arrived at the Vehicle Assembly Building at @NASAKennedy. On Jan. 17, NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft will ride the crawler to Launch Pad 39B in preparation for the Artemis II mission around the Moon.
QuoteNASA Artemis@NASAArtemis·Knock knock! 🚪NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 recently arrived at the Vehicle Assembly Building at @NASAKennedy. On Jan. 17, NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft will ride the crawler to Launch Pad 39B in preparation for the Artemis II mission around the Moon.
Artemis II Platforms RetractedNASA ID: KSC-20260116-PH-KLS01_0056All work platforms are retracted from around NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
This live feed from our Kennedy Space Center in Florida will provide continuous views of the Artemis II Moon rocket beginning on Saturday, Jan. 17 with rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and the crew of Artemis II (NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch; Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen) are at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to answer questions from the media about the upcoming mission and preparations.
Pete Carstens@CarstensPeteArtemis 2 shimmy’s as it rolls to 39B.
