“Zero Hour” to launch NASA’s Artemis 1 lunar mission on August 29 CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida – It’s time for NASA’s new moon rocket. With 8.8 million pounds of thrust, the rocket named space launch system (SLS) – Designed to be more powerful than NASA’s bone Saturn V . Its Orion space capsule is a third larger than its predecessor, Apollo. However, neither of the two spacecraft passed the final test: Journey to the moon And return. That will change on Monday (August 29), when NASA aims to launch the SLS megarocket and Orion Artemis 1 a test flight that is the forefront of the agency’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon by 2025. Liftoff is set for 8:33 a.m. EDT (1233 GMT) from Pad 39B here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. You can watch the launch live online Monday starts at 6:30 AM EST (1030 GMT). “Zero hour is approaching for Gil Artemis,” Mike Sarafin, NASA’s Artemis 1 mission manager, told reporters here on Saturday. “We have a strong sense of expectation.” Related: NASA’s Artemis 1 Moon Mission: Live Updates more: 10 wild facts about the Artemis 1 lunar mission This prediction is not something that NASA has alone. higher 200,000 spectators are expected (Opens in a new tab) To sink the Florida Space Coast here for a look at NASA’s first moon rocket to fly in over 50 years.