NASA stacks rocket, spacecraft for moon mission

NASA on Friday said it had completed stacking the fully assembled rocket and spacecraft it will use for its next generation of deep space operations, including missions on and around the moon.

Engineers and technicians secured the Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System, or SLS, in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

NASA plans to launch the uncrewed mission, Artemis I, in early 2022, with the spacecraft flying to the moon and back as a prelude to crewed missions.

It named the moon program Artemis after Apollo's twin sister in Greek mythology.

The 322-foot-tall rocket is taller than Statue of Liberty.

NASA aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon by 2024.