NASA’s giant rocket travels the first meters on its way to the moon
The new massive rocket that NASA wants to use to bring humans to the moon again is on its way to the launch pad in Florida for the first time. The missile will be tested there on the ground before the first unmanned launch, perhaps not before May.
The Space Launch System (SLS) has a height of 98 metres, one meter higher than the Groningen Martinitoren. The rocket left the massive VAB building at the Kennedy Space Center for the first time last night at 10:30 PM Dutch time.
Standing on a crawler, the giant is a large movable platform on caterpillar tracks that brings the moon rocket very slowly to the 39B launch pad, from which rockets were also launched for the Apollo project and the space shuttles. The 6.5 km journey takes about 11 hours.
This scene with a band playing the US national anthem was broadcast live on NASA TV. A crowd of employees watched and were addressed by NASA President Bill Nelson. “Ladies and gentlemen, here is the most powerful rocket in the world,” said Nelson. “Humanity will soon usher in a new era of discovery.” A former Apollo astronaut was also with Subtract. Tom Stafford (91) flew to the moon in 1969.
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