At 11:26 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 9, NASA’s mobile launcher was safely secured inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a four-mile journey from Launch Pad 39B that began at 6:40 a.m. EST Thursday, Dec. 8. During the return aboard the crawler transporter, teams paused the roll operations several times as planned to ensure the operation occurred during daylight hours. Focusing on transporting during daylight hours allowed for better visibility on the operations and for teams to rest overnight.
Between the successful Nov. 16 launch of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft from atop the mobile launcher and the roll operations, teams safed all the systems on the structure and started repairs to areas damaged during the Artemis I launch. The mobile launcher will remain inside the VAB for several weeks as teams get it ready for the Artemis II crewed mission. Following its stay in the VAB, it will go to the mobile launcher park site location at Kennedy where it will undergo emergency egress modifications and testing to support future Artemis missions.
Image credit: NASA/Isaac Watson