The first human mission to the moon in half a century is starting to get stacked up. The NASA-funded Space Launch System (SLS), the massive rocket slated to send the Artemis 2 crew around the moon in 2025,

The readiness of the Orion crew capsule, where the four Artemis II astronauts will live during their voyage around the Moon, is driving NASA's schedule for the mission. Officially, Artemis II is projected to launch in September of next year, but there's little chance of meeting that schedule.

Preparations for the next NASA SLS Moon rocket launch are underway at Kennedy Space Center, involving detailed system checkouts and installations. This sets the stage for moving booster segments to the launch assembly building,