The 98-meter-long rocket left its hangar in the middle of the night and completed the 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) journey shortly after sunrise on Friday.
NASA is targeting a Nov. 14 launch attempt, sending an empty crew capsule around the moon and back in a dramatic test flight before astronauts board the craft in a few years.
Forecasters have their eyes on possible tropical weather conditions that could impact.
It’s NASA’s biggest step yet to return astronauts to the moon by 2025. The space agency is approaching the 50th anniversary of the last human landing on the moon: Apollo 17 in December 1972.
Although smaller, this early version of the rocket is still more powerful than the Saturn V that sent the Apollo astronauts to the moon.
Fuel leaks have kept the rocket grounded since August. Hurricane Ian then forced the rocket back into the hangar at the Kennedy Space Center in late September. NASA used the time to make repairs and replace critical batteries.
NASA doesn’t yet know why hydrogen continues to leak every time the rocket is fueled, but engineers are confident they can handle any future leaks, said Cliff Lanham, senior director.
Takeoff will be in the early hours for the next three launch opportunities. While NASA prefers a daytime launch for test flights to take as many pictures as possible, it is not a requirement. Radar and infrared cameras should provide plenty of coverage, said Jim Free, a NASA associate.
The $4.1 billion mission will last nearly a month, culminating in a crash in the Pacific. Test dummies are available to measure radiation and vibration.
