Space Launch System rocket now targeted for a late 2021 launch

Enlarge / Technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans moved the Space Launch System's liquid hydrogen tank from the factory to the dock, where it was loaded onto the Pegasus barge on Dec. 14, 2018. (credit: NASA/Steven Seipel)

NASA has finally set a new launch date for the oft-delayed first flight of its Space Launch System rocket. The formal date should be announced next week, a senior engineer at the agency said.

During a committee meeting of NASA's Advisory Council, Tom Whitmeyer said the launch date would be "towards the end of next year." This mission, dubbed Artemis I by NASA, is seen as the agency's first step back toward the Moon. The uncrewed test flight, which will last between 26 and 42 days, will insert Orion into a lunar orbit before the deep space capsule returns to Earth.

Under development since 2011, the Space Launch System rocket has cost NASA nearly $20 billion and has been criticized both for its cost and slow pace of development. But largely because of unshaken Congressional support, NASA has continued its plodding development.

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