The NASA Artemis II mission is targeted for launch as early as Feb. 6.

[akasci@fosstodon.org]

NASA is targeting Sat. Jan 17 for the rollout of the Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft for final integration, testing, and launch rehearsals.

The 4-mile journey to the launch pad at KSC using the crawler-transporter-2 will take ~12 hours. After system checks and tests, astronauts will conduct a final walkdown at the pad.

At the end of Jan, NASA will conduct a wet dress rehearsal, including fueling and unfueling of the rocket without astronauts onsite.

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/artemis-2/final-steps-underway-for-nasas-first-crewed-artemis-moon-mission/
2/n

[f4grx@chaos.social]

@AkaSci careful when purging that oxygen tank!

[enigma@norden.social]

@AkaSci Bremen is there in first row to pay attention 😎

[axeln@norden.social]

@enigma @AkaSci Go ESM!

[jpshoer@mastodon.social]

@AkaSci My Artemis II launch date predictor tool -- which fits a line to (time remaining until announced launch date) vs. (date of announcement) and calculates the intercept -- is currently predicting 1 April 2026.

[alexadeswift@lgbtqia.space]

@AkaSci

May I hitch a lift please? You can drop me off at Luna ...

[genericperson@hachyderm.io]

@AkaSci I might be a fan

[akasci@fosstodon.org]

Knock knock!

It is NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 arriving at the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC for a pick-up!

Tomorrow morning Jan. 17, at ~7 a.m. EST. it will transport NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft + Mobile Launcher to Launch Pad 39B in preparation for the Artemis II crewed mission around the Moon on ~6 Feb.

At about one mph, the four-mile journey will take 10-12 hours.

Livestream starts at 7 a.m. at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrVnsO_rdew

https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/01/16/artemis-ii-moon-rocket-ready-for-big-move/
3/n

[shadow@vmst.io]

@AkaSci The crawler-transporter reminded me of No.5 lol

[akasci@fosstodon.org]

A pair of crawler-transporters (nicknamed “Hans” and “Franz”) were built in 1965 to move the massive Saturn V rocket from Kennedy’s VAB to Launch Complex 39. After the Moon landing and Skylab programs ended, the crawlers were used to transport the space shuttles.

CT-2 was upgraded for the Artemis program around 2012.
CT-1 was originally planned for commercial launch vehicles but its future remains uncertain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawler-transporter
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/exploration-ground-systems/the-crawlers/
4/n

[urwumpe@hessen.social]

@AkaSci Or 13:00 CET.

Not sure if I will watch this, but its sure an rare event to see a crawler roll such a huge rocket out of the VAB.

[urwumpe@hessen.social]

@AkaSci The add-on "Space Shuttle Vessel" for the Orbiter Spaceflight Simulator includes a pretty detailled simulation of the CT, permitting the player to drive the Space Shuttle onto the launch pad (or back again).

#Orbiter #opensource #foss #Spaceshuttle #spacesim

[akasci@fosstodon.org]

Here are a few vital specs of the unique NASA crawler-transporter vehicles. No other vehicle comes close.

Each CT is larger than the size of a baseball infield and powered by locomotive and large electrical power generator engines.

The crawlers are designed to roll underneath the mobile launcher (ML) along with assembled rocket, pick it up, and steadily carry it 4.2 miles to Launch Pad 39B.

https://www3.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/combined_crawler-transporters_fact_sheet_final.pdf
5/n

[akasci@fosstodon.org]

The crawler-transporter is able to raise and lower its sides and corners independently using its hydraulic system. It uses its hydraulic suspension to keep the mobile platform and rocket level, as it climbs up the 2.9 degree slope to the the launch pad.

https://www3.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/combined_crawler-transporters_fact_sheet_final.pdf
More pics at https://images.nasa.gov/search?q=crawler&page=1&media=image,video,audio&yearStart=1920&yearEnd=2026
6/n

[akasci@fosstodon.org]

The NASA crawlers were built by the Marion Power Shovel Co., a manufacturer of steam shovels, power shovels and excavators. Their power shovels played a major role in mining, the construction of the Panama Canal and excavation of Hoover Dam and the Holland Tunnel.

The idea for a crawler-launcher platform started when a NASA engineer visited his father’s farm near Paradise, KY, and observed a giant strip mining shovel in operation.

https://pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/gem-of-egypt-shovel/
https://www.marionmade.org/2019/07/marion-power-shovel-nasa-crawler-transporter/
7/n

[baloo@sfba.social]

@AkaSci Those things have so much of a thunderbirds smell!
(came out the same year)

[akasci@fosstodon.org]

Here are a few videos of the NASA crawler-transporter in action in 2022 during the Artemis I mission.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhgPs0n3phc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBpHjQjbt2Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk226QwT_1k
8/n

[akasci@fosstodon.org]

Some amazing pics of NASA’s massive Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC, taken on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.

All work platforms have been retracted in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B at KSC in FL Saturday morning.

More pics at https://images.nasa.gov/search?q=artemis%20ii%20sls&page=1&media=image,video,audio&yearStart=2026&yearEnd=2026
9/n

[msbellows@c.im]

@AkaSci How do they move the rocket from the CT to the pad?

[akasci@fosstodon.org]

@msbellows

From https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/combined_crawler-transporters_fact_sheet_final.pdf -

"Once the CT-2 makes its eight-hour trek to the pad with engineers and technicians aboard, ML1 and SLS will be lowered onto pad mount mechanisms. After platforms are lowered and power transfers are complete, the CT-2 will roll back down the pad slope and park just outside the pad perimeter gate. CT-2 will wait there until a few days prior to launch in case a rollback is required."

Looking for a video ...