Space Daily August 23, 2026 • 12:10

The Artemis II rocket and spacecraft took nearly 12 hours to crawl four miles to their launchpad at less than 1 mph—then, after carrying four astronauts around the Moon, the Orion capsule returned to Earth at nearly 25,000 mph, more than 30,000 times faster. - Space Daily

Artemis II's first four-mile rollout took nearly 12 hours at no more than 0.82 mph. Orion later met Earth's atmosphere near 25,000 mph before its heat shield and parachutes slowed the crew for splashdown.

The widest speed range in the Artemis II mission began before the rocket ever left the ground. On 17 January 2026, NASA’s fully assembled Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft and mobile launc… [+5782 chars]

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The Artemis II rocket and spacecraft took nearly 12 hours to crawl four miles to their launchpad at less than 1 mph—then, after carrying four astronauts around the Moon, the Orion capsule returned to Earth at nearly 25,000 mph, more than 30,000 times faster. - Space Daily

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