First Crewed Lunar Flight since 1972

NASA’s 1st crewed lunar flight since 1972

Technology USA

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FLORIDA): As first crewed lunar flight since 1972 is set to be launched on 6th February, NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) Rocket and Orion Spacecraft reached the Launch Pad after a 12-hour voyage from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) here on Saturday (17th Jan, 2026).

First Crewed Lunar Flight since 1972

Savants, at the helm of affairs, insinuate that Orion Spacecraft (that can support a crew of four) will be launched on Friday (6th of Feb, 2026) harboring astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch.

Lunar Flight


Artemis II mission will send astronauts on a 685,000-mile journey.

NASA, commenting on rocket rollout, stated: Crawler-transporter 2 began its 4-mile trek with the integrated SLS and Orion stacked on top. Moving at a maximum speed of just 0.82 mph, the crawler carried the towering Moon rocket and spacecraft slowly but surely toward the pad. 

Once outside the VAB’s high-bay doors, the rocket made a planned pause allowing teams to reposition the crew access arm – a bridge that provides astronauts and a closeout crew access to Orion on launch day.

In the coming days, engineers and technicians will prepare the Artemis II rocket for the wet dress rehearsal, a test of fuelling operations and countdown procedures. Targeted for no later than Feb. 2, the team will load the rocket with cryogenic, or super-cold, propellants, run through the countdown, and practice safely draining the propellants from the rocket – all essential steps before the first crewed Artemis mission. 

Additional wet dress rehearsals may be required to ensure the vehicle is completely checked out and ready for flight. If needed, NASA may rollback SLS and Orion to the Vehicle Assembly Building for additional work ahead of launch after the wet dress rehearsal.

The Artemis II test flight will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on an approximately 10-day journey around the Moon and back. It is another step toward new U.S.-crewed missions to the Moon’s surface, leading to a sustained presence on the Moon that will help the agency prepare to send the first astronauts – Americans – to Mars.

Cynics go haywire wondering how NASA (that was forced to show 3900 employees the door due to Trumpian policies,) managed to muster billions of dollars for the Lunar Flight?

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