CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - When NASA’s giant new moon rocket soars into space, the roar of its rockets will be the last gasp for some pieces of space shuttle program history.
The Artemis I mission’s rocket engines and boosters have direct ties to each of the shuttles and even one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts.The Space Launch System, as it is formally called, is scheduled to blast an uncrewed Orion capsule toward the moon as soon as Monday.
Over 100,000 people are expected to line Florida’s Space Coast to watch the first flight of a new moon rocket – the first since the massive Saturn V debuted on a similar test flight in 1967.On the left, the Saturn V rocket for the Apollo 14 mission rolls out to the pad in 1970.
On the right, the crawler-transporter is seen carrying the Artemis I rocket in 2022. (NASA / Aubrey Gemignani) In sheer scale, the SLS rocket nearly lives up to the Saturn V legacy.