Space Launch System will begin its journey back to Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center on June 6.
"This is really hard work," a NASA official said. The gigantic SLS rocket is back in the Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida for repairs.
The two torsos, named "Helga" and "Zohar," will journey to the Moon ahead of the crewed Artemis missions.
The SLS launch rehearsal ended up being a big, befuddled mess, despite NASA’s assurances to the contrary.
The space agency is planning another attempt at a wet dress rehearsal early next week.
A busted valve has introduced a further complication into an already less-than-ideal test of NASA’s SLS rocket.
The test was scrubbed on Monday after a manual valve was, for some reason, left closed when it should’ve been open.
The multi-day rehearsal is the final step as NASA readies its gigantic Moon rocket for a possible launch in June.
Concerns have been raised that NASA might inadvertently disclose information that helps an adversary build ballistic missiles.
With the Space Launch System rollout complete, NASA will begin preparations for a critical rehearsal.
Live coverage of the historic rollout begins at 5:00 p.m. EDT (2:00 p.m. PDT).
The 322-foot-tall rocket will begin its 4-mile journey to the launch pad on Thursday, March 17.
In the next month, the Orion spacecraft will be rolled out to its launchpad at Cape Canaveral, NASA said Thursday.
NASA replaced an engine controller aboard the gigantic Space Launch System rocket after a glitch late last year.
Officials say nothing’s wrong with the rocket, it’s just the sheer volume of testing that’s the problem.
The problem was traced to a computer on one of the Space Launch System's four RS-25 engines, which date back to the Space Shuttle.
The Artemis lunar landing was supposed to happen in 2024, but recent litigation and other factors had made that timeline increasingly unlikely.
The inaugural launch of SLS will happen no earlier than February 12, 2022.
A naming contest for the inanimate Artemis crew member launches today.
The uncrewed inaugural liftoff of the Space Launch System could happen in early November.
