The first crewed Moon mission since Apollo 17 in 1972 drew creators to Kennedy Space Center through NASA Social, a program that began as a 2009 Tweetup
NASA invited me to Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 17, 2026, as one of the digital creators there to watch the Artemis II rocket roll out to its launch pad. The one-day NASA Social meetup included a morning event with the mission's four astronauts and an afternoon facility tour.
The rollout moved the first crewed Artemis flight to its pad. The Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft left the Vehicle Assembly Building at 7:04 a.m. EST, NASASpaceFlight reported. According to NASA, the stack reached Launch Pad 39B at 6:42 p.m. after a nearly 12-hour, 4-mile trip, at a top speed of 0.82 mph. No crew had flown to the Moon since Apollo 17 in December 1972.
Baxter at the crew event, with the Vehicle Assembly Building behind her. Photo: Raven Baxter
In my videos, I explained the mission in plain terms. "They are sending astronauts around the moon to do experiments for over a week," I said. "The rocket is now moving from the assembly complex where they put it all together and do all the mechanics to its launch pad."
I also turned the rollout into a math problem. "This rocket is rolling out at 0.8 miles per hour. It's gonna go four miles on a straight path right to its launch pad," I said. "You do the math, how long is it gonna take for it to get to its destination?"
At the viewing site, I joined creators and reporters to hear from NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and the crew. They were Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. "We are doing this to fulfill a promise to the American people that we will return to the Moon," Isaacman said in NASA's recording.
The Artemis II crew on stage at the rollout media event. Baxter is not pictured. Photo: Raven Baxter
NASA Social invites social media users behind the scenes at NASA facilities and events to share what they see with their audiences. The first, called a Tweetup, took place at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Jan. 21, 2009. By 2023 NASA had hosted more than 200 such events, according to an agency overview. The Vehicle Assembly Building, the crawlerway and Launch Complex 39 were built during the Apollo program and now serve Artemis, NASASpaceFlight noted.
Artemis II launched from Pad 39B on April 1 and splashed down in the Pacific on April 10. NASA reported that the crew flew 695,081 miles and traveled farther from Earth than any humans before them.
Baxter stands inside a rocket component on the afternoon facility tour. Photo: Raven Baxter
As a sixth-grader in 2004, I won a scholarship to Space Camp. I hold two degrees from SUNY Buffalo State and wore its sweatshirt that day. "Look at all the cool things that your alums are doing," I told viewers.
My Shorts from the day are Artemis II Roll Out and NASA Flew Me Out to See Artemis II. NASA's rollout report is on its website.
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