Skip to main content

How to watch tonight’s launch of NASA’s mega moon rocket

NASA is aiming to launch its next-generation Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on a mission to the moon in just a few hours from now.

Artemis I Launch to the Moon (Official NASA Broadcast) - Nov. 16, 2022

Following several postponed launch efforts in recent months due to technical issues and severe weather systems, NASA will attempt the rocket’s maiden launch early on Wednesday morning ET (Tuesday night PT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The highly anticipated mission will see the world’s most powerful rocket send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft on a flyby of the moon as part of the Artemis I mission, marking the start of a new era of space exploration.

NASA set out the schedule in a tweet shared on Monday:

#Artemis I is launching to the Moon!

Nov. 15:
3:30pm ET (2030 UTC): Tanking coverage
10:30pm ET (0330 UTC): Launch broadcast

Nov. 16:
8:30am ET (1330 UTC): Trajectory burn
10am ET (1500 UTC): Earth views from @NASA_Orion

Stay tuned: https://t.co/sQWu67xTPq pic.twitter.com/srAEMfTQ63

— NASA (@NASA) November 14, 2022

How to watch

Preparations for launch, as well as the launch itself, can be viewed via the player embedded at the top of this page, or by heading to the NASA’s YouTube channel, which will carry the same feed.

Live coverage of tanking operations, with commentary, will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. PT) on Tuesday, November 15.

Full launch coverage will begin at 10:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT) on Tuesday, with the liftoff currently scheduled for 1:04 a.m. ET on Wednesday (10:04 p.m. PT on Tuesday).

What to expect

A slew of cameras on the ground and on the rocket itself will cover the launch from multiple angles as the 98-meter-tall SLS vehicle lights up the Florida sky on its way to space. Commentators will also talk viewers through the early stages of the flight, including the deployment of the Orion spacecraft, which will then make its way toward the moon before returning for a splashdown landing in December.

NASA will also livestream what promises to be spectacular Earth views from cameras on Orion later on Wednesday morning.

A successful Artemis I mission will pave the way for Artemis II, which will fly the same path, but this time with a crew aboard. After that, Artemis III will aim to put the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, possibly as early as 2025.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
How to watch Friday’s historic spacewalk at the ISS
30 stunning spacewalk images to celebrate nasas 300th outing  26

NASA Live: Official Stream of NASA TV

NASA astronaut Steve Bowen and his United Arab Emirates counterpart Sultan Alneyadi are making final preparations for a spacewalk at the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, April 28.

Read more
Will SpaceX’s failed Starship flight impact NASA’s moon plan?
Artist concept of the SpaceX Starship on the surface of the Moon.

SpaceX’s Starship vehicle suffered what the spaceflight company called a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” on Thursday. In other words, it blew up.

The good news is that the uncrewed rocket cleared the pad and flew for around four minutes before meeting its fiery end. It means the SpaceX team will have plenty of valuable data on the rocket's flight performance, enabling it to refine the rocket’s systems to give it an improved chance of completing the second test flight and sending the Starship to orbit.

Read more
How to watch SpaceX launch record-breaking Starship rocket on Thursday
The Starship, comprising the first-stage Super Heavy and the upper-stage Starship spacecraft, on the launchpad at SpaceX's facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

Starship Flight Test

Update: SpaceX called off Monday's launch attempt due to a technical issue. It's now targeting Thursday, April 20. Full details below. 

Read more