CAPE CANAVERAL, March 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - NASA on Thursday began returning its towering SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to its Florida launch pad ahead of a planned flyby of the Moon, after completing necessary repairs. The immense orange and white Space Launch System rocket and the Orion vessel were to be slowly wheeled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and painstakingly moved four miles (6.5 kilometers) to Launch Pad 39B. If the tests are satisfactory, three Americans and one Canadian will head to the Moon as soon as early April to fly around Earth's satellite. Before that setback, NASA had found technical problems including a liquid hydrogen leak that cut short a so-called wet dress rehearsal for the launch. Meanwhile the Artemis 2 astronaut crew entered quarantine on Wednesday in Houston as they prepare for the eventual historic journey.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha March 20, 2026 15:11 UTC