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Across the nation are sacred sites that\h
capture the spirit of America’s character\h\h

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and one of those places is right\h
here. The Kennedy Space Center. 
\h

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Every single vehicle that has carried\h
humans beyond the bounds of low Earth orbit\h\h

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has undergone integration and testing\h
in that vehicle assembly building,\h\h

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crawled down this roadway and launched\h
right here from the Kennedy Space Center.\h\h

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The Space Launch System mated with the Orion\h
spacecraft will continue this proud tradition. 
\h

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As soon as we rollout of the Vehicle\h
Assembly Building, High Bay 3,\h\h

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and the world gets a chance to see this rocket,\h
I think, I think it is going to be shocking.
\h

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On March 17th, NASA took a giant step\h
toward returning humanity to the moon.\h\h

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The fully assembled Space Launch System rocket\h
and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission\h\h

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made its debut outside the massive\h
Vehicle Assembly Building. 
\h

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We’ve seen the mobile launcher outside, and it’s\h
massive, but now add an over-300-foot rocket\h\h

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on top of it, it’s just gonna be amazing.
Charlie Blackwell-Thompson,\h\h

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oversees the launch countdown, ultimately\h
providing the "go" for launch. 
\h

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NTD, launch director, representing this team\h
and all the men and women that have worked to\h\h

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make this day happen, I proudly give you a go to\h
roll the Artemis launch vehicle to the pad.
\h

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Ladies and gentlemen, the world’s\h
most powerful rocket right here. 
\h

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Once outside, the rocket began its\h
nearly four-mile journey to the pad,\h\h

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riding atop a 6.6-million-pound\h
crawler-transporter,\h\h

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which was originally constructed to\h
transport the Apollo Moon rocket. 
\h

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In one year, we have completely stacked the\h
vehicle, we have completed most of our testing,\h\h

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all very successful, and we are so close to\h
launch. The excitement is just crazy. 
\h

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Now NASA’s new Moon rocket is making the same\h
journey the Saturn V took 50 years ago. 
\h

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And just as all eyes are on the SLS tonight\h
as it makes its journey. In a few short weeks,\h\h

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all eyes are going to be on the sky\h
as it rocks the Space coast and takes\h\h

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its maiden flight around the Moon. 
It is amazing to see the culmination of all\h\h

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of this work of many years from many industries of\h
many people that have come and go to have a chance\h\h

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to then now see their work going over to the\h
pad and then launching to go to the Moon. 
\h

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The rocket is rolling to historic launch\h
complex 39B – its launch pad used for both\h\h

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Apollo and shuttle launches, sending hundreds\h
of astronauts to space throughout the decades\h\h

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and now on tap to send hundreds more as we return\h
to the Moon and venture beyond to Mars. 
\h

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But for this mission, there\h
will be no astronauts on board.\h\h

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Before the uncrewed Artemis I stack can\h
launch to our nearest celestial body,\h\h

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it has to travel to the pad for a wet dress\h
rehearsal – a test run of rocket, capsule,\h\h

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launch team and launch pad through their\h
paces simulating a launch countdown. 
\h

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When we get to the pad, the pad team will be\h
connecting all the interfaces between the pad\h\h

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and mobile launcher so that we can go ahead and\h
start our operations at the pad. So at that point\h\h

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the launch director really takes over and she will\h
go down the sequence as if it was really a normal\h\h

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launch day. 
Wet dress rehearsal\h\h

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is essentially launch without a launch. It\h
is really the reason we’re doing it is to\h\h

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verify and validate all of the pieces that go\h
into launch countdown. So wet dress is really\h\h

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our opportunity to find any issues or adjustments\h
that we need to make in our launch countdown.
\h

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For Artemis I, the wet dress rehearsal is\h
the final and most critical test before\h\h

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the rocket can return to the launch pad for\h
liftoff to the Moon. During the countdown,\h\h

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over 730,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid\h
propellants will be loaded into the rocket as\h\h

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part of the nearly two-day launch countdown.  
We will configure all of the ground systems\h\h

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exactly the way we would for launch, and we will\h
fully load the core stage and the interim cryo\h\h

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propulsion stage with their liquid fuels. That’ll\h
be the first time that that’s been done from here\h\h

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at Kennedy Space Center. There have been pieces\h
of these things done in multiple different areas.\h\h

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We’ve tested all of these systems in multiple\h
different locations, but this will be the first\h\h

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time where we pull it all together and do all\h
of it all in the same progression that we’ve got\h\h

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laid out for launch countdown.
Wet dress is the biggest milestone\h\h

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we have aside from launch because that\h
means that the rocket is now put together,\h\h

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has been tested separately and together and it is\h
ready to go and be filled with fuel to simulate\h\h

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how we’re gonna to do it at the pad and then it\h
tells us the rocket is ready to go for launch.
\h

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And, behind that wet dress rehearsal is a launch\h
team made up of hundreds of engineers monitoring\h\h

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each system of the 320-foot-tall Artemis I rocket\h
and capsule. Sitting in firing room 1 is the core\h\h

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launch control team, monitoring hundreds of launch\h
commit criteria to ensure the ground systems and\h\h

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flight hardware are ready for launch.
Now you would think that launch control\h\h

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team in firing room 1 is it, that’s all you\h
need. We have an expansive support team across\h\h

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really the entire NASA enterprise that\h
is supporting us on launch day.
\h

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And that support spans the entire nation,\h
from additional system engineers sitting in\h\h

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Kennedy’s Firing Room 2, to the flight control\h
team at Johnson Space Center in Houston, to the\h\h

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contractors responsible for designing and building\h
each segment of the rocket and capsule. 
\h

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This team is really shaping up to be a\h
great, very skilled and ready to operate\h\h

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and execute launch for Artemis I.
With the Artemis I launch team now fully\h\h

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certified, and the wet dress rehearsal complete,\h
SLS and Orion are ready for their final pitstop:\h\h

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returning to the VAB before venturing\h
back to Launch Pad 39B for liftoff. 
\h

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I mean we are going, and we are going together,\h
and we are having an opportunity to do this\h\h

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in a new generation of space exploration in\h
which I can say that I’m really a part of. 
\h

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You know, you come every day to the\h
VAB and you see the rocket and you\h\h

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can’t believe what we have accomplished. 
People throughout history have always explored\h\h

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and you never know what you’re going to learn. 
Exploration is not always about the destination,\h\h

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but it’s the path that you travel,\h
the things you learn along the way.
\h

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And the things we’re going to learn are\h
going to be incredible. We can’t even begin\h\h

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to understand what those are today.
Our workforce has been a relentless spirit. We\h\h