The Artemis I mission, which will place an unmanned spacecraft in lunar orbit and return it to Earth in advance of future missions to return astronauts to the moon, is NASA's biggest launch of the year. However, NASA must test its new rocket (the Space Launch System) and new capsule (Orion) to make sure they are secure and prepared to transport humans before any astronauts launch.
Launched from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B (LC-39B), Artemis I will fly around the moon while gathering scientific data and trying out new technology. The mission's launch window is scheduled to open on August 29. The organization will live stream the whole launch process. However, the 320-foot-tall Space Launch System rocket is being pushed out to the launch pad on Thursday, August 18, so the launch preparations are already starting this week.
You can tune into NASA's Kennedy Space Center's YouTube page to follow the rocket's stately progress as it is transported by a special crawler on the four-mile route to the launch pad. A Livestream will show the rocket's progress starting at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT) on Thursday, August 18. You may also watch three briefings NASA will hold this week about the mission, including lunar research, technological demonstration, and secondary payloads if you're looking for even more Artemis information. The briefings will be webcast on NASA's website at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT), Tuesday, August 16, at noon ET (9 a.m. PT), and Wednesday, August 7, at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
The rocket is presently housed at the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, where NASA is also doing last-minute preparations for the launch. This involves putting the flight termination system test, which can stop the launch in an emergency, to the test. The access platforms that give crew access to the rocket will be retracted once this is finished, and the rollout can then start.
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