As the SLS rocket is scheduled for launch during a two-hour window that opens at 8:33 a.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 29, from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, NASA is planning to provide a wide coverage of prelaunch, launch, and postlaunch activities for Artemis I.

Artemis I will be the first integrated test of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and the ground systems at the launch center in Florida, heralding future crewed flight test and future human lunar exploration.

The rocket and spacecraft have already reached the launch pad last week after the nearly 10-hour, four-mile trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building and a livestream of the rocket and spacecraft at the launch pad has been made available on the NASA Kennedy YouTube channel.

Live coverage of events will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website, with prelaunch events starting Monday, Aug. 22. The launch countdown will begin Saturday, Aug. 27, at 10:23 a.m.

Artemis I set for launch / NASA

A live broadcast of the launch includes celebrity appearances by Jack Black, Chris Evans, and Keke Palmer, as well as a special performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Josh Grobin and Herbie Hancock. It also will feature a performance of “America the Beautiful” by The Philadelphia Orchestra and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

The first in a series of complex missions, Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The mission will test the performance of the SLS rocket and test Orion’s capabilities over a period of about six weeks while on its travel that covers about 40,000 miles beyond the Moon and back to Earth.