In this photograph looking up, NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft stands vertical at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of launch of the agency’s Artemis II test flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Artemis II launched at 6:35 p.m. EDT April 1 at NASA Kennedy, sending Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, along with Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back with splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California on Friday, April 10.
Photographer NASA/Kevin Davis; Doug Sperling and Jacob Robertso
Album Artemis_II
Location Launch Complex 39B
Date April 1, 2026