Overview
- NASA’s Orion spacecraft, named Integrity by the crew, rolled about seven miles from the Launch Abort System Facility into Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building late Oct. 16 local time.
- In the coming days, cranes will hoist the 78,000‑pound spacecraft to be placed atop the Space Launch System in the VAB for final integration.
- Teams will run an integrated test series in the VAB that includes End‑to‑End communications and interface checks plus a crewed Countdown Demonstration Test with suit‑up, comm checks, strap‑in, and an egress demo.
- After rollout to Launch Complex 39B, pad work will include connecting the Mobile Launcher, configuring slide‑wire emergency egress baskets, and a full wet dress rehearsal to a planned cutoff around T‑29 seconds.
- Artemis II remains targeted for a lunar flyby no earlier than Feb. 5, 2026, with astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen set to become the first crew to travel to the Moon’s vicinity since 1972.