On January 17, 2026, NASA’s 322-foot Space Launch System reached Launch Pad 39B, marking the first crewed lunar mission on a pad in 54 years. The rollout at Kennedy Space Center placed Artemis II and Orion under pad lights for final checkouts, including a planned wet dress rehearsal. Upgraded Pad 39B supports the Space Launch System’s cryogenic fueling and lightning protection. The crawler moved four miles in nearly 12 hours at about 0.82 mph as engineers monitored systems and adjusted the crew access arm. The crew targets a February rehearsal and early-February window, with a 10-day, 600,000-mile flight to test Orion and deep-space operations.
