The last hurdle

After a decade of development, one final verification test is all that stands between National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) first Space Launch System rocket, shown here shortly after sunset March 17 on its way to Launch Complex 39B at Cape Canaveral, and the design's first launch. NASA late last year released a calendar of several possible launch windows for the Artemis I mission, an attempt to send an uncrewed Orion capsule slingshotting around the moon. But before committing to a launch date, NASA has said it wants to complete a fuel loading test and simulated countdown scheduled for early April. NASA watchers, nevertheless, are enjoying speculating over the likely launch date, and the consensus seems to be that between June 6 and June 16 is most likely. The rocket made its 11-hour, overnight trek atop a massive crawler-transporter.