NASA's Moon Rocket Rolls Out for First Crew in 50 Years

After more than 50 years, astronauts are finally heading back to the moon, and their ride just arrived at the launchpad.

NASA's 322-foot Space Launch System rocket crawled 4 miles from Kennedy Space Center's assembly building to its launch site, moving at just 1 mile per hour. The journey took from sunrise to sunset, but nobody minded the wait.

Thousands of space center workers and their families gathered in the pre-dawn cold to witness history. They erupted in cheers as the massive rocket emerged from the same building that once housed the Apollo program's Saturn V rockets.

Leading the celebration were NASA's new administrator Jared Isaacman and all four astronauts who will make the journey. Commander Reid Wiseman told the crowd it was "awe-inspiring" to finally see this day arrive.

The mission will send Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day trip around the moon. They won't land on the lunar surface, but they'll become the first humans to fly to the moon since Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in 1972.

The crew brings impressive credentials. Wiseman, Glover, and Koch are all experienced NASA astronauts with previous spaceflights. Hansen, a former fighter pilot, will become the first Canadian to venture beyond Earth orbit.

The rocket's first test flight happened in November 2022 without any crew aboard. Engineers spent the following years analyzing data and fixing issues, including heat shield damage on the crew capsule.

Why This Inspires

This mission represents more than just revisiting old achievements. It's the first step in NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a lasting human presence on and around the moon. Future missions will land astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time in over half a century.

The four surviving moonwalkers from Apollo, including 96-year-old Buzz Aldrin, are thrilled to see humanity returning. "They are so fired up that we are headed back to the moon," Wiseman said. "They just want to see humans as far away from Earth as possible discovering the unknown."

NASA still needs to conduct a fueling test in early February before confirming the exact launch date. The agency has a narrow five-day window in the first half of February, with backup opportunities in March if needed.

The massive rocket and its Orion crew capsule weigh 5 million kilograms combined, making this one of the most powerful launch vehicles ever built. It rode to the pad on a specially upgraded transporter that once carried Apollo rockets and space shuttles.

Decades of planning, testing, and perseverance have led to this moment, proving that some dreams are worth the wait.