Now That is a Big Rocket. Space Launch System Rolls out to the Launch pad for a Series of Tests

The SLS rocket rolled out to the launchpad for the first time under the full moon. The journey began at the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, with the massive stack of the mega rocket arriving at Launch Pad 39B in preparation for a series of final checkouts before its Artemis I test flight.

The four-mile trip from the launch site to the pad took 10 hours and 28 minutes, and the 3.5 million-pound rocket arrived at the pad at 1:45 a.m. on March 18.

The upcoming final test, known as the wet dress rehearsal, will run the Artemis I launch team through operations to load propellant into the rocket's tanks, conduct a full launch countdown, demonstrate the ability to recycle the clock, and also drain the tanks to practice the timelines and

The rolling out of the Vehicle Assembly Building is an important milestone for NASA, according to Tom Whitmeyer, NASA's deputy associate administrator for Common Exploration Systems Development.

After the tests at the launchpad, SLS will be rolled back to the VAB for final tune-ups before the first launch of Artemis.