NASA Aiming for Late August Test Flight of Giant Moon Rocket

Invited guests and NASA employees take photos as NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is rolled out of High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building for the first time, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 17, 2022. Aubrey Gemignani/NASA via AP

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—On the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, NASA announced Wednesday it’s shooting for a late August launch of its giant, new moon rocket.

NASA will attempt the more than month-long lunar test flight with three mannequins, but no astronauts, as early as Aug. 29. There are also two launch dates in early September, before NASA would have to stand down for two weeks.