NASA rolls Artemis II moon rocket back to launch pad

NASA rolled its huge moon rocket back to the launch pad early Friday, setting the stage for four astronauts to circle the moon.

NASA rolled its huge moon rocket back to the launchpad at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center Friday morning, setting the stage for four astronauts’ much-anticipated journey around the moon.

The 322-foot-tall Space Launch System rocket, topped with the Orion capsule, will launch the crew on a 10-day trip as early as April 1.

The rocket's painstakingly slow, 4-mile trek from the hangar to the launchpad began early Friday at 12:20 a.m. ET, following a several-hour delay because of high winds. The rocket reached the launchpad 11 hours later.

It was the second rollout process for the 11-million-pound rocket. The booster was first rolled to the launchpad in mid-January, but a few weeks ago, engineers found a blockage in the flow of helium that required NASA to roll the rocket back to its Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs.

Add NBC News to GoogleArtemis II: NASA's Journey to the Moon | NBC News27:35The rocket's return to the launchpad involved a moving platform known as a crawler-transporter, which inched along at a maximum speed of 0.82 miles per hour, according to NASA.