The Digester

NASA moves Artemis 2 rocket back to pad, targets April 1 launch

Mar 20th 2026

After repairs, NASA is rolling the 5,500 ton Artemis 2 SLS and Orion stack back to Launch Pad 39B and aiming for a 1 April crewed flyby of the moon.

  • Rollout of the SLS rocket and Orion began at 8pm local time and can take up to 12 hours.
  • The stack will be moved about 4 miles from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B.
  • The Artemis 2 stack weighs about 5,500 tons and includes the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft.
  • NASA is targeting a 1 April launch window for a roughly 10 day crewed lunar flyby with three US astronauts and one Canadian.
  • The rollback to the VAB followed repairs to a helium flow issue after an earlier liquid hydrogen leak ended a wet dress rehearsal, and the crew entered quarantine in Houston on Wednesday.

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