First journey around moon with astronauts in more than 50 years could blast off in February
Nasa’s giant new moon rocket has moved to the launch pad in preparation for astronauts’ first lunar fly-around in more than half a century.
The trip could blast off in February.
The 98-metre (322ft) rocket began its 1 mph (1.6 km/h) creep from Kennedy Space Center’s vehicle assembly building at daybreak. The trek of 4 miles took until nightfall.
Thousands of space centre workers and their families gathered in the pre-dawn chill to witness the long-awaited event, delayed for years. They huddled together before the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s exit from the building, built in the 1960s to accommodate the Saturn V rockets that sent 24 astronauts to the moon during the Apollo programme. The cheering crowd was led by Nasa’s new administrator, Jared Isaacman, and all four astronauts assigned to the mission.
