NASA returns moon rocket to pad, eyeing April 1 launch
AFP | Cape
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Canaveral NASA on Thursday began returning its towering SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to its Florida launch pad ahead of a planned flyby of the Moon, after completing necessary repairs.
Artemis engineers began the maneuver, which can take up to 12 hours, at 8:00 pm eastern, after which the US space agency will begin final preparations before its next launch window opens on April 1.
The immense orange and white Space Launch System rocket and the Orion vessel were to be slowly wheeled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and painstakingly moved four miles (6.5 kilometers) to Launch Pad 39B.
If the tests are satisfactory, three Americans and one Canadian will head to the Moon as soon as early April to fly around Earth’s satellite.
The mission, to last about 10 days, would be a huge step towards Americans once again setting foot on the lunar surface, a goal announced by President Donald Trump in his first term.
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