All work platforms are retracted from around NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – After a few weeks of necessary and critical repairs inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), NASA is at last ready to roll the agency’s Artemis II Moon rocket back out to launch pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for the 2nd time on Thursday, March 19
Rollout #2 is currently scheduled to start later this evening at about 8 p.m. ET – pending the weather which is quite windy this afternoon
Around noontime today, March 19, I was upclose with the Artemis II moon rocket inside the VAB on level 16 in High Bay 16 as we media were kindly afforded the opportunity to set remote cameras to catch the rollout later this evening
Ken Kremer of Space UpClose with NASA’s Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on March 19, 2026, in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com
All work platforms had been retracted from around the 321-foot-tall Artemis II SLS mega moon rocket and Orion crew spacecraft
All work platforms are retracted from around NASA’s Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on March 19, 2026, in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com
I was also interviewed live by Fox 35 Orlando at 11:30 am ET about updating the status of NASA Artemis II rollout from VAB to launch pad 39B – as the winds were howling on the Florida Space Coast, just abit below the weather criteria limit of 40 knots
All work platforms are retracted from around NASA’s Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on March 19, 2026, in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com
The 4-mile trek at max ca 0.8 mph takes about 12 hours as the Crawler-Transporter-2 (CT-2) moves the 11 million pounds mass stack of SLS and Orion secured to the mobile launcher from the VAB to top of pad 39B
Launch of Artemis II is targeted for as early as Wednesday, April 1.
The early April launch window includes a total of six opportunities every day through Monday, April 6.
All work platforms are retracted from around NASA’s Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on March 19, 2026, in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com
NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft mega moon rocket for the Artemis II crewed moonshot mission completed its rollback from launch pad 39B into the VAB where it arrived inside late evening Feb. 25, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida – to fix the helium flow interruption issue detected in the ICPS upper stage during testing overnight Feb. 21 at Launch Complex 39B.
More from NASA:
“Following a successful wet dress rehearsal on Feb. 21, teams identified an issue preventing helium from flowing to the rocket’s upper stage, prompting a return to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) where the issue was repaired.
While the rocket and spacecraft were in the VAB, engineers also refreshed and retested several systems on the rocket. Engineers activated a new set of flight termination system batteries, replaced other batteries on the upper stage, core stage, and solid rocket boosters, and charged Orion’s launch abort system batteries. Engineers also replaced a seal on the core stage liquid oxygen feed line and reassembled and retested the oxygen tail service mast umbilical plate to confirm a tight seal interface.”
Artemis II will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back, marking the first crewed flight of the Artemis program.
Meanwhile, the Artemis II crew entered quarantine at 5 p.m. CDT Wednesday in Houston, to ensure they stay healthy leading up to launch. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will limit their exposure to others for the next week in Houston, before flying to Kennedy approximately five days before launch, to continue their quarantine from the astronaut crew quarters there.
Could NASA’s Artemis 2 rollout get delayed again? NASA engineers are targeting tonight at 8 PM [Mar 16, 2026] to roll the Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. The Artemis crew entered quarantine last night to prepare for a launch next month. Ken Kremer, Managing Editor of Space UpClose joins FOX 35’s Garrett Wymer live via Zoom to preview NASA’s rollout and the odds of a successful string of events before the launch window opens next month. video: https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/fmc-vihrm1hbp25zq1hj. Credit: Fox 35 Orlando/Screenshot: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpclose.comEnjoy our multiple Galleries of Rollback photos for Space UpClose from the team of Ken Kremer and Jean Wright – which are posted in several galleries
Ken Kremer of Space UpClose with NASA’s Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on March 19, 2026, in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com
NASA’s crawler-transporter 2, carrying NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft, arrives Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida – after rolling back from Launch Complex 39B. NASA will repair blockages of helium flow to the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) upper stage required for purges and fuel tank pressurization to launch the rocket. Once complete the SLS rocket will roll back to pad 39B to launch four astronauts around the Moon and back for Artemis II test flight. Credit: Ken Kremer / Space UpClose
Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news. Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics. Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events.
CAPE CANAVERAL/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – On March 25, 2026 I was interviewed live by Fox 35 Orlando about “NASA unveils timeline for $20 billion moon base project” and NASAs new plans to establish a moon base with astronauts at the lunar South Pole – that were announced on March 24 by new NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. Also discussed – How,
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – After a few weeks of repairs and high winds in the final hours forcing another 4 hours of delays that stretched into Friday, March 20, NASA at last completed the 2nd rollout of the agency’s Artemis II SLS Moon rocket and Orion spacecraft from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) back out to launch pad 39B
