NASA astronaut photographs Artemis II SLS rocket from International Space Station

The ISS passed over Florida soon after the SLS rocket arrived at the launch pad.
BY PRANJAL PRANIT
UPDATED JAN 27, 2026
A view of the Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39B, where the Space Launch System is in position for the Artemis 2 mission. (Cover Image Source: X/Chris Williams)
A view of the Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39B, where the Space Launch System is in position for the Artemis 2 mission. (Cover Image Source: X/Chris Williams)

NASA astronaut Chris Williams, currently the lone U.S. occupant on the International Space Station, photographed the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida from space. Williams posted to X (formerly Twitter) on January 19, 2026, and pointed to the rocket’s shadow at its launch site, where it arrived on January 17 after a 12-hour crawler-transporter journey. “That shadow is from the rocket (and launch tower) that will soon take four of my friends on a trip around the moon as part of the @NASAArtemis program!” captioned Williams.

Williams is currently operating solo on the ISS’s U.S. segment following SpaceX Crew-11’s unprecedented medical evacuation. The astronaut took the shot when the ISS passed over Florida not too long after SLS arrived at the launch pad at 6:42 pm EST. Williams lamented not using a better lens in his caption, but NASA’s Kennedy Space Center commented, “We think it looks great!”. Williams and his companions, cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, are set to be joined on the ISS by Crew-12 in mid-February. 

This image shows NASA’s SLS and Orion spacecraft rolling out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. (Cover Image Source: NASA/Brandon Hancock)
This image shows NASA’s SLS and Orion spacecraft rolling out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. (Image Source: NASA/Brandon Hancock)

Artemis II will launch a crew composed of Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist), and Jeremy Hansen (Canadian Space Agency mission specialist) on a 10-day lunar flyby starting no earlier than February 6, 2026. Glover becomes the first person of color beyond low-Earth orbit, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-American, according to Space.com.

Trajectory for Artemis II, NASA’s first flight with crew aboard SLS, Orion to pave the way for long-term return to the Moon, missions to Mars. (Image Source: NASA)
Trajectory for Artemis II, NASA’s first flight with crew aboard SLS, Orion to pave the way for long-term return to the Moon, missions to Mars. (Image Source: NASA)

SLS awaits a wet dress rehearsal by February 2, 2026, with launch windows across February and April. Post Artemis II’s successful 10-day lunar expedition, Artemis III is slated to happen in 2028 with a crewed landing at the Moon’s south pole using SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS), which will dock with Orion in lunar orbit to deliver astronauts for extended surface operations, including water ice extraction and science experiments. Artemis IV will follow thereafter, with a view to accelerate scientific research in the lunar surroundings aboard the Gateway station. The Artemis program revives human lunar exploration after more than 50 years since Apollo 17, advancing deep-space technologies, and laying the groundwork for Mars missions.

An image of ISS against the dark sky (Image Source: NASA | Roscosmos)
An image of ISS against the dark sky (Image Source: NASA | Roscosmos)

Much like the ISS—which orbits at 250 miles above Earth—Gateway is to be built with international collaboration and through more commercial partnerships. It will allow the crew to work, stay, and facilitate missions on the surface of the Moon. As is the case with ISS, it will also feature docking ports for allowing future spacecraft. Given ISS’ impending de-orbit in 2030, it is only right for an Artemis rocket to be photographed from ISS while it is still operational.

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