NASA to rollout SLS rocket for Artemis I Moon mission on Aug 17; here's how to watch live

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), the mega Moon rocket, will be rolled out to the launch pad on August 17 ahead of its debut liftoff which is slated for August 29. The rocket will be launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the Artemis I mission, the first of NASA's Artemis Program. Currently, at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the rocket will cover a six-kilometre-long journey to the Launch Complex 39b of the KSC.

How to watch to rocket rollout live?

According to NASA's recent announcement, the rollout process of the rocket to the Launch Complex 39b will start at 6:30 am IST on August 17 (9 p.m. EDT, Aug 16). To watch the event live, you can tune in to NASA's official website or check out the NASA TV or NASA app for the same. Given the size of the rocket (322 feet), the process of hauling the rocket from the VAB will be carried out extremely slowly and carefully and this might take a few hours. 

What happens on August 29?

If NASA is able to launch the rocket on August 29 without delay, it would liftoff as the most powerful rocket to have ever blasted into space by producing 8.8 million pounds of maximum thrust. Soon after the launch, the rocket would separate from the Orion spacecraft, which would be mounted atop SLS carrying over 10,000 items and ten secondary payloads.

(Payloads being sent to space; Image: NASA)

These payloads are actually CubeSats that would be used to carry out several experiments which include mapping water on the Moon and studying the effects of radiation on bacteria. The former will be done using the shoebox-sized CubeSat Lunar Icecube whereas the latter, named BioSentinel, would help in carrying out the first biological experiment in outer space for the first time in over 50 years. 

Moreover, Orion is also carrying several mementos such as artefacts from the previous Moon missions as well as three mannequins which would help gather data about spaceflight. These dummies have been allotted one seat each inside the Orion and they would also measure the amount of radiation astronauts would face when they actually head out to the Moon.