NASA's moon rocket is back at the launch pad following hangar repairs. The 322-foot rocket made the slow four-mile trek Friday at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. If all goes well, the Space Launch System rocket will blast off in early April with four astronauts, the first to fly to the moon in more than half a century.
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makes food sound like a miracle drug. Researchers say he often overstates the scienceJurors wade through daunting evidence in high-stakes Meta trial about social media risks to childrenHere’s what dermatologists are saying about your skin care routine: Keep it simplePope Leo endorses Francis' divisive 2016 text on Communion after civil remarriageIsrael ataca Teherán en el Año Nuevo persa mientras la guerra sacude los mercados energéticos makes food sound like a miracle drug. Researchers say he often overstates the scienceJurors wade through daunting evidence in high-stakes Meta trial about social media risks to childrenHere’s what dermatologists are saying about your skin care routine: Keep it simplePope Leo endorses Francis' divisive 2016 text on Communion after civil remarriageIsrael ataca Teherán en el Año Nuevo persa mientras la guerra sacude los mercados energéticosThe NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft moved toward the pad Friday following repairs Vehicle Assembly Building. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft moved toward the pad Friday following repairs Vehicle Assembly Building. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving slowly to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — For the second time this year, NASA moved its moon rocket from the hangar out toward the pad Friday in hopes ofcould blast off as early as April 1 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The Artemis II crew went into quarantine this week in Houston. The 322-foot rocket began the slow 4-mile trek in the middle of the night, transported atop a massive crawler used since the 1960s Apollo era. The trip was held up for several hours by high wind but completed by midday, 11 hours after it began. The three Americans and one Canadian will zip around the moon in their capsule and then come straight home without stopping. Their mission should have been completed by now, but hydrogen fuel leaks and clogged helium lines forced two months of delay. AP AUDIO: NASA hauls its repaired moon rocket from the hangar back to the pad for an early April launchWhile technicians plugged the leaks at the pad, the helium issue could only be fixed in the Vehicle Assembly Building, forcing NASA to roll the rocket back at the end of February. The last time NASA sent astronauts to the moon was during Apollo 17 in 1972. The new Artemis program aims for a two-person landing in 2028.The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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