The SLS lunar rocket, along with the Orion spacecraft, was transported to Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After all tests have been completed, the launch attempt is scheduled for April 1.
Transportation of the rocket
On Friday, March 20, at 12:20 a.m. EDT, NASA specialists began transporting the SLS lunar rocket and the Orion spacecraft from the assembly building to the launch pad. It was still late in the evening on March 19 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at that time.
Although these two points are only a few hundred meters apart, the operation itself proceeds very slowly, since a 100-meter-long carrier is being moved in a vertical position. This process will take about 12 hours.
All of this is being done in accordance with the decision made a week ago, so there are no delays or setbacks. Once the rocket is fully assembled, preparations will begin for the final tests.
Starting April 1
All of this is being done to attempt to launch four astronauts on a mission around the Moon as early as April 1. Unfortunately, the challenges we faced in February made it completely impossible to do so in March.
However, the new launch window—by which engineers are theoretically supposed to have the rocket fully prepared for launch—is set to open as early as the beginning of next month. The crew entered a pre-launch quarantine as early as Wednesday, but no one can rule out the possibility that it might have to be interrupted.
Now everything depends on the results of the pre-launch checks, including the most critical one, during which the rocket will be fueled and brought to full launch readiness. If all goes well, the launch will take place on April 1. If not, NASA will have a few more days in early April and one day at the very end of the month.
According to www.nasa.gov
