Nasa's Mega Moon Rocket Arrives at Launch Pad

Monday, January 19, 2026

Nasa's mega rocket has been moved to the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as the final preparations get underway for the first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years.

Posted by REDIAL at 04:31 PM | 7 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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

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-- The Guardian (@theguardian.com) Jan 18, 2026 at 4:51 AM

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My son is currently big into space and rockets. Loves watching YouTube videos of launches and animations about how stuff works, ect. Makes a STEM dad proud.

I'm hoping to take him to see this. A delay in the launch by about two weeks would be perfect.

#4 | Posted by jpw at 2026-01-20 03:33 PM | Reply

#4 I was in Orlando for a week-long seminar in the late 1990s.

There was a space shuttle launch scheduled for the week I was there. And it was scheduled to takeoff around 4:00am.

I set the alarm for 3:30am or so and went out to the front of the hotel where I was staying. Conveniently, the hotel entrance faced due east.

Shortly after 4:00am, the eastern sky lit up as if the sun was rising, then the rocket was in plain view as it accelerated into the sky.

It was breathtaking, JPW.

I hope you and your son can see a launch in person.

#5 | Posted by A_Friend at 2026-01-20 03:39 PM | Reply

I still say this is unnecessarily squeezing a good chunk out of NASA's budget. I can't get too excited about a mission which is basically just to test equipment. We'll have to wait a few years for Europa Clipper to reach it's destination for some real science.

#6 | Posted by crisisstills1 at 2026-01-20 05:07 PM | Reply

It was breathtaking, JPW.

I hope you and your son can see a launch in person.

#5 | Posted by A_Friend

His face during high quality shuttle launch videos with sound waaaaay up is priceless. I can only imagine what his response would be to the launch of SLS, which is much larger and much more powerful such that he'd feel it as much as hear it.

Then there would be Kennedy Space Center itself with it's rocket garden, Atlantis...he'd be i heaven.

#7 | Posted by jpw at 2026-01-20 08:46 PM | Reply