Nasa moon rocket creeps to its launch pad in preparation for astronaut flight

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 2 min read 100% complete by Associated PressJanuary 18, 2026 at 10:44 AM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, carrying the Orion crew capsule, was transported to its launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in preparation for the Artemis II mission, a lunar fly-around with astronauts. The 98-meter rocket's 4-mile journey from the vehicle assembly building took place over several hours, witnessed by space center workers, their families, and NASA officials. This mission, potentially launching in February, will be the first crewed flight to the moon since 1972, with astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. The Artemis II mission follows a 2022 test flight and aims to send the crew on a 10-day journey around the moon without landing, paving the way for future lunar landings.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

John Honeycutt 40% Christina Koch ×250% Victor Glover ×250% Jared Isaacman ×250% Artemis II 50% Jeremy Hansen ×250% Kennedy Space Center 60% Reid Wiseman ×260% Apollo ×270% Orion ×270% Space Launch System ×280% Nasa ×5100%

Keywords

moon rocket 100% astronaut flight 90% artemis program 80% space launch system 70% lunar fly-around 70% orion capsule 60% nasa 60% apollo program 50% kennedy space center 50% crew mission 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Positive

Score: 0.60

Source Transparency

Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Kennedy Space Center

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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moon rocket astronaut flight artemis program space launch system lunar fly-around orion capsule nasa apollo program kennedy space center crew mission

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