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The European Service Module-2 and Orion crew module adapter for the Artemis II Orion spacecraft was moved into the Final Assembly and System Testing (FAST) cell inside NASA's Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, on 22 May 2023. The spacecraft modules will be integrated with the crew module before being handed over to NASA's Exploration Ground Systems for fuelling. The European Service Module holds 8000 l of fuel in four tanks that is distributed to 33 engines.
The first European Service Module exceeded expectations on the Artemis I mission, powering the Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back on its test flight. It supplied temperature control, propulsion and electricity for the spacecraft. For the two-week Artemis II mission the European Service Module-2 will have even more critical tasks as it needs to supply drinking water and breathable air to the four astronauts in the Orion capsule: NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen.
In June ESA formally hands over the European Service Module-2 to NASA, ready for integration with the Orion crew capsule and then on the road to the launchpad, set for liftoff around the Moon in 2024.
Credit: NASA
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In this image, a crescent moon sets over the Crescent City in a photo shot from near NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Friday, September 30, 2022.
Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
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NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced the four astronauts who will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term presence at the Moon for science and exploration through Artemis. The agencies revealed the crew members Monday during an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
“The Artemis II crew represents thousands of people working tirelessly to bring us to the stars. This is their crew, this is our crew, this is humanity's crew,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen, each has their own story, but, together, they represent our creed: E pluribus unum – out of many, one. Together, we are ushering in a new era of exploration for a new generation of star sailors and dreamers – the Artemis Generation.”
The crew assignments are as follows: (left to right) Mission Specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch, Commander Reid Wiseman (seated), Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen. They will work as a team to execute an ambitious set of demonstrations during the flight test.
Image credit: NASA
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The sunrise casts a warm glow around the Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 21, 2022. The SLS and Orion atop the mobile launcher were transported to the pad on crawler-transporter 2 for a prelaunch test called a wet dress rehearsal. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.
Image Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
#MoontoMars #NASAMarshall #nasasls #artemis #NASA
Integration of the European Service Module (ESM) for Orion, the American crewed spacecraft for the Artemis programme, at Airbus' Bremen site.
ESA is delivering up to six modules to NASA, with three more currently under negotiation for the lunar Gateway. Airbus is ESA’s prime contractor for building the first six service modules.
Credits: Airbus
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) team fully stacked three hardware elements together May 24 to form the top of the rocket’s core stage for the Artemis II mission. NASA and core stage prime contractor Boeing connected the forward skirt with the liquid oxygen tank and intertank flight hardware inside an assembly area at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Teams had previously stacked the liquid oxygen tank and intertank on April 28. The joining of the three structures together is the first major assembly of core stage hardware for Artemis II, the first crewed Artemis mission and second flight of the SLS rocket. Next, technicians will work to complete outfitting and integrating the systems within the upper structure.
Image Credit: NASA/Eric Bordelon
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The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage for the second flight of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket arrived in Florida on July 28 for the final phase of production. The stage and its single RL10 engine provide the in-space propulsion needed to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft and its crew on a precise trajectory to the Moon for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis lunar missions. It is the first piece of the rocket for the Artemis II flight to arrive in Florida. Boeing and United Launch Alliance, the contractor team for the stage, shipped the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage from ULA’s facilities in Decatur, Alabama, to its Delta IV Operation Center at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The stage will undergo final processing and checkout before it is transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for launch preparations.
With Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface and establish long-term exploration at the Moon in preparation for human missions to Mars. SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, along with the commercial human landing system and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.
Image Credit: ULA
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An Antonov aircraft sent the second European Service Module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft across the Atlantic in a custom-built container from Bremen, Germany, on 13 October 2021. It is the last stopover on Earth before this made-in–Europe powerhouse takes the first astronauts around the Moon on the Artemis II mission. Upon arrival at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the second European Service Module (ESM-2) will be connected to the crew module. Together they form the Orion spacecraft.
The service module is a critical element for Orion – it provides propulsion, power and thermal control and will supply astronauts with water and oxygen.
With parts made in ten countries in Europe, there is one element that returns to American soil after testing in Germany: the service module’s main engine is a refurbished engine from Space Shuttle Atlantis that will steer the spacecraft on its way to the Moon.
Credits: ESA–A. Conigli
Crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility rotated the engine section on Feb. 11 for Artemis II, the first Artemis mission with a crew, from a vertical position to a horizontal position in preparation for final assembly and integration. This breakover, or “flip,” signals that the core stage for the next Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is nearly complete. Following the successful launch of Artemis I, SLS engineers have their eyes set on the production, assembly, and testing of Moon rockets for Artemis II, III, and IV. The Artemis II core stage is in final assembly at Michoud, and crews will soon unbox the four RS-25 engines for the mission to integrate them into the stage. The engine section is the last major structure that makes up the core stage of the rocket that will help power the Artemis II mission.
Image Credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
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Technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans moved the engine section of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the Moon, into position for the final join of the core stage Feb. 22. The engine section is the bottom-most portion of the 212-foot-tall core stage. It is the last of five major elements that is needed to connect the stage into one major structure. In addition to its miles of cabling and hundreds of sensors, the engine section is a crucial attachment point for the four RS-25 engines and two solid rocket boosters that produce a combined 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and flight. During launch and flight, liquid propellants from the liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tanks are delivered through the engine section to the four RS-25 engines. The engine section also includes the avionics that help steer the engines after liftoff.
Next, teams will join the engine section to the core stage for the second SLS rocket. After the join is complete, teams will begin to add each of the four RS-25 engines one by one to complete the stage. The completely assembled stage with its four RS-25 engines will be shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida later this year. The SLS rocket is the only rocket capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.
Image credit: NASA/Eric Bordelon
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NASA and its partners across the country are continuing to make progress on the crewed Artemis missions with hardware for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rockets for Artemis II, III, and IV already in various phases of production, assembly, and testing.
SLS proved to be the world’s most powerful rocket, when its two solid rocket boosters and four RS-25 engines produced more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft beyond the Moon and back on Artemis I. Data from the first flight of SLS is helping engineers build confidence in the rocket’s systems to safely fly crew on future lunar missions
In this image, all of the booster motors for the two solid rocket boosters on the SLS rocket for Artemis II are complete and will be readied for shipment from Northrop Grumman’s facilities in Utah to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida later this year.
Image credit: Northrop Grumman
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Teams at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, recently completed welding the launch vehicle stage adapter for Artemis II, the first flight with astronauts. Teams moved the Artemis II launch vehicle stage adapter to another area of the Marshall facility to finish outfitting and assembly. The LVSA flight hardware is produced exclusively at Marshall by Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville.
Image Credit: NASA
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The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under Artemis. Astronauts on their first flight aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft will confirm all of the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.
The unique Artemis II mission profile will build upon the uncrewed Artemis I flight test by demonstrating a broad range of SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion capabilities needed on deep space missions. This mission will prove Orion’s critical life support systems are ready to sustain our astronauts on longer duration missions ahead and allow the crew to practice operations essential to the success of Artemis III and beyond.
This official crew portrait shows NASA astronauts (left to right) Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel
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Congratulations to the winners of NASA's seventh annual "Photographer of the Year" awards. Eric Bordelon and Michael DeMocker won second place in the category of Documentation for this beautiful image of a SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
This photo shows NASA and Boeing, the SLS core stage lead contractor, preparing the SLS rocket core stage for shipment at Michoud. On July 6, 2024, NASA and Boeing moved the Artemis II rocket stage to Building 110. The core stage of SLS is the largest NASA has ever built by length and volume, and it was manufactured at Michoud using state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment. Designed and managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Credits: NASA/Eric Bordelon & Michael DeMocker
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NASA joined the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage forward assembly with the 130-foot liquid hydrogen tank for the Artemis II mission on March 18. This completes assembly of four of the five large structures that make up the core stage that will help send the first astronauts to lunar orbit on Artemis II.
The 66-foot forward assembly consists of the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank and the intertank, which were mated earlier. Engineers inserted 360 bolts to connect the forward assembly to the liquid hydrogen tank to make up the bulk of the stage. Only the engine section, which is currently being outfitted and includes the main propulsion systems that connect to the four RS-25 engines, remains to be added to form the final core stage.
All parts of the core stage are manufactured by NASA and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Currently, the team is building core stages for three Artemis missions. The first core stage is stacked with the rest of the SLS rocket, which will launch the Artemis I mission to the Moon this year. Together with its twin solid rocket boosters, the core stage will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon. The SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft form the foundation for Artemis missions and future deep space exploration.
Image Credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
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The second European Service Module is prepared for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA this week at Airbus facilities in Bremen, Germany. Made up of components from ten European countries, ESM-2 will power the first crewed flight to the Moon on the Artemis II mission.
The European Service Modules are a key element of the Orion spacecraft, the first to return humans to the Moon since the 1970s.
Built by the brightest minds in Europe, the module provides propulsion, power and thermal control and will supply astronauts with water and oxygen. The ESM is installed underneath the Crew Module Adapter and Crew Module and together they form the Orion spacecraft.
ESM-2 is currently in route to Florida on an Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft, where NASA is finalising preparations for the launch of Artemis I. The first European Service Module has long since been mated with the crew module to form the first Orion spacecraft ready to launch to the Moon. It will soon be integrated on top of the Space Launch System rocket in its final preparations for Artemis I, during which it will be put to the test when it powers the uncrewed maiden flight of the Orion spacecraft on an orbit which will go as far as 64 000 km behind the Moon, around, and back.
ESA is delivering up to six modules to NASA, with three more currently under negotiation. These Artemis missions will allow for assembly and service of the lunar Gateway.
Airbus is ESA’s prime contractor for building the first six service modules. The third European Service Module is at the start of its integration phase where equipment, brackets and harness will be added to the structure.
Follow more Orion news on the blog.
Credits: Airbus
NASA’s Artemis II Moon rocket is taking shape following the successful integration of the launch vehicle stage adapter onto the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage on April 12 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Technicians with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program used a 325-ton crane to hoist the launch vehicle adapter almost 250 feet in the air and slowly lower it onto the core stage.
The cone-shaped adapter connects the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, which will propel the Artemis II test flight around the Moon, to the SLS core stage. During launch and ascent, the launch vehicle stage adapter provides structural support and protects avionics and electrical devices within the upper stage from extreme vibrations and acoustic conditions. Up next, teams will stack the interim cryogenic propulsion stage onto the launch vehicle stage adapter.
The Artemis II test flight will take a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, helping confirm the foundational systems and hardware needed for human deep space exploration. The mission is the first crewed flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign and is another step toward missions on the lunar surface and helping the agency prepare for future human missions to Mars.
Credits: NASA/Isaac Watson
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This image shows team members moving the first core stage that will help launch the first crewed flight of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the agency’s Artemis II mission. The move marked the first time a fully assembled Moon rocket stage for a crewed mission has rolled out from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans since the Apollo Program,
The core stage was moved onto the agency’s Pegasus barge, where it will be ferried to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The core stage for the SLS mega rocket is the largest stage NASA has ever produced. At 212 feet tall, the stage consists of five major elements, including two huge propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super chilled liquid propellant to feed four RS-25 engines at its base. During launch and flight, the stage will operate for just over eight minutes, producing more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help send a crew of four astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft onward to the Moon.
NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft and Gateway in orbit around the Moon and commercial human landing systems, next-generation space, next-generational spacesuits, and rovers on the lunar surface. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.
Credit: NASA
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A critical component needed for future testing in support of NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond recently arrived at the agency’s Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi.
The interstage simulator special test equipment arrived at Stennis on Sept. 21 via barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, where it was fabricated. The simulator, 31 feet in diameter and 33 feet tall, will be used during Green Run testing of the new Exploration Upper Stage (EUS). EUS will fly on future Space Launch System (SLS) missions as NASA continues its mission to explore the universe for the benefit of all.
Here, the interstage simulator component to be used during Exploration Upper Stage testing for the Space Launch System rocket arrives at the B-2 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Sept. 21, 2022.
Image Credit: NASA
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NASA has taken a big step forward in how engineers will assemble and stack future SLS (Space Launch System) rockets for Artemis Moon missions inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The VAB’s High Bay 2 has been outfitted with new tooling to facilitate the vertical integration of the SLS core stage. That progress was on full display in mid-December when teams suspended the fully assembled core stage 225 feet in the air inside the high bay to complete vertical work before it is stacked on mobile launcher 1, allowing teams to continue solid rocket booster stacking simultaneously inside High Bay 3 for Artemis II. With the move to High Bay 2, technicians now have 360-degree tip to tail access to the core stage, both internally and externally.
Credit: NASA
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Engineers with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems complete stacking operations on the twin SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters for Artemis II by integrating the nose cones atop the forward assemblies inside the Vehicle Assembly Building’s High Bay 3 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. During three months of stacking operations, technicians used a massive overhead crane to lift 10 booster segments – five segments per booster – and aerodynamic nose cones into place on mobile launcher 1. The twin solid boosters will help support the remaining rocket components and the Orion spacecraft during final assembly of the Artemis II Moon rocket and provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust during liftoff from NASA Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39B.
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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As NASA and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) prepare to announce the four astronauts who will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans are working to prepare their ride. All five major elements of the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket are fully integrated. Watch as technicians line up the stage and insert 360 bolts to join the last major element to the rest of the previously assembled structure, and then move the 212-foot-tall core stage into position to prepare to install its four RS-25 engines. At launch the rocket’s core stage and its RS-25 engines, along with two solid rocket boosters, will produce more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send the Artemis II crew beyond Earth orbit to the Moon.
You can watch the Artemis II Crew Announcement event at 10 a.m. CDT on various NASA social media accounts, NASA TV, the NASA App, or the NASA Website.
Image credit: NASA/Eric Bordelon
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NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, middle, and Dr. Quincy K. Brown, front right, senior policy advisor in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, are shown the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket by Jennifer Boland-Masterson, left, director of manufacturing and site leader at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility for Boeing, during a March 31 visit to Michoud in New Orleans. They are accompanied by Michoud Facility Director Lonnie Dutreix, back right. The 212-foot-tall core stage and its four RS-25 engines will help power NASA’s Artemis II flight test, the first crewed Artemis mission that will send four astronauts around the Moon and return them home to test the spacecraft in deep space ahead of lunar surface missions. Teams at Michoud recently integrated the last of the five major core stage structures and unboxed the four RS-25 engines. NASA and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, along with Aerojet Rocketdyne, the RS-25 engine lead contractor, are preparing to install the engines to the base of the rocket’s core stage. The core stage and its RS-25 engines produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust at launch.
NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.
Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
#NASA #NASAMarshall #sls #spacelaunchsystem #nasasls #exploration #rocket #artemis #MichoudAssemblyFacility #ArtemisII
In this aerial view, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, after it completed the journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge. In the coming months, SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch.
Credit: NASA/Jamie Peer and Michael Downs
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Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program lift the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) core stage for the Artemis II mission from horizonal to vertical inside the transfer aisle at the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. The one-of-a kind lifting beam is designed to move the core stage from the transfer aisle to High Bay 2 where it will remain while teams stack the two solid rocket boosters for the SLS core stage.
Credit: NASA/Adeline Morgan
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In this image from Dec. 11, 2024, the 212-foot-tall SLS (Space Launch System) core stage is lowered into High Bay 2 at the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. With the move to High Bay 2, NASA and Boeing technicians now have 360-degree access to the core stage both internally and externally.
The Artemis II test flight, targeted for launch in 2026, will be NASA’s first mission with crew under the Artemis campaign. NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will go on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back.
Credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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Exploration Ground Systems teams NASA's Kennedy Space Center recently mated the Spider to the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage for @NASAArtemis II.
The Spider, held up by the Transportation Integration Fixture, attaches to the top of core stage and is the connection point for lifting operations with the Vehicle Assembly Building high bay crane.
In this image, the Artemis II core stage in the Vehicle Assembly Building transfer aisle with the Spider affixed.
Credit: NASA
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Team members with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program safely offloaded and transferred the 212-foot-tall Space Launch System (SLS) core stage from the agency’s Pegasus barge, which arrived at Kennedy Space Center's Complex 39 turn basin wharf on July 23 from Marshall Space Flight Center’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. It was then rolled to the Vehicle Assembly Building transfer aisle where teams will process it until it is ready for rocket stacking operations.
SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch, which will send NASA's first crewed mission to the Moon with the Artemis campaign.
#Artemis #NASAMarshall #Space #NASASLS #NASA #NASAMichoud #NASAKennedy
Since the mobile launcher returned in October from Launch Pad 39B to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, work has been underway for upcoming stacking operations of NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) Moon rocket.
To prepare for launch, the mobile launcher is undergoing optical scans, system checkouts, and umbilical refurbishment, including installation of the aft skirt electrical umbilicals.
The booster segments soon will move from the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility to the VAB via a transporter. The aft assemblies, or bottom portions of the five segment boosters, will be situated in the facility's transfer aisle then lifted atop the mobile launcher in High Bay 3.
The examinations and preparations of the mobile launcher and rocket elements lay the groundwork for Artemis II crewed test flight around the Moon.
In this image, engineers and technicians with the Exploration Ground Systems Program prepare to transfer one of the aft assemblies of the SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters for the Artemis II mission with an overhead crane inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024.
Credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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Technicians are preparing to connect two major parts of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s Artemis II core stage. On Jan. 30, technicians moved the largest part of the stage, the 130-foot liquid hydrogen tank to the vertical assembly area at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. Here, it will be prepared for joining with the 66-foot forward assembly.
The forward assembly comprised of the joined forward skirt, intertank, and liquid oxygen tank completed construction and was transported to the final assembly area inside the factory on Jan. 10. Technicians will move the liquid hydrogen tank back to this final assembly where Boeing, the lead core stage contractor, will join the two structures. This will complete construction of most of the core stage that will launch the first crew on the Artemis II mission.
Only the engine section, the fifth piece of the stage, will need to be added to complete the Artemis II core stage. The engine section is one of the most complex parts of the stage. It includes the main propulsion system that connects to the four RS-25 engines that are built by Aerojet Rocketdyne and are assembled and stored at their facility at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The engines will be the last items installed on the stage. During launch, more than 700,000 gallons of propellant flows from the core stage tanks to the engines that produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help launch the SLS rocket.
The core stage serves as the backbone of the rocket, supporting the weight of the payload, upper stage, and Orion crew vehicle, as well as the thrust of its four RS-25 engines and two five-segment solid rocket boosters attached to the engine and intertank sections. The Artemis II mission will help NASA prepare for later Artemis missions that will enable the first woman and first person of color to land on the Moon.
Image Credit: NASA/Jared Lyons
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Coming through! 🚀
On Aug. 21, the first piece of hardware manufactured here at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center for a crewed NASA Artemis mission began its journey! The cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter was carefully transferred to the agency's Pegasus barge and is now on its way to Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Check out this new timelapse video as teams skillfully guide the 27.5 foot tall adapter for #Artemis II at Marshall.
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NASA is preparing the Space Launch System rocket core stage that will help power the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis campaign for shipment. On July 6, NASA and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, moved the Artemis II rocket stage to another part of the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The move comes as teams prepare to roll the massive rocket stage to the agency’s Pegasus barge for delivery to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in mid-July.
Prior to the move, technicians began removing external access stands, or scaffolding, surrounding the rocket stage in early June. NASA and Boeing teams used the scaffolding surrounding the core stage to assess the interior elements, including its complex avionics and propulsion systems. The 212-foot core stage has two huge propellant tanks, avionics and flight computer systems, and four RS-25 engines, which together enable the stage to operate during launch and flight.
Credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
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Mission support teams are seen toeing in rope line on USS Somerset as they practice with the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA), a full scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft, during Underway Recovery Test-12 off the coast of California, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. During the test, NASA and Department of Defense teams are practicing to ensure recovery procedures are validated as NASA plans to send Artemis II astronauts around the Moon and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA completed another step to ready its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the Artemis III mission as crews at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans recently applied a thermal protection system to the core stage’s liquid hydrogen tank.
Building on the crewed Artemis II flight test, Artemis III will add new capabilities with the human landing system and advanced spacesuits to send the first astronauts to explore the lunar South Pole region and prepare humanity to go to Mars. Thermal protection systems are a cornerstone of successful spaceflight endeavors, safeguarding human life, and enabling the launch and controlled return of spacecraft.
In this image, teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move a liquid hydrogen tank for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket into the factory’s final assembly area on April 22, 2025. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage.
Credits: NASA/Steven Seipel
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Another element of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for Artemis II is poised for flight. Technicians joined the core stage March 23 with the stacked solid rocket boosters for the mission at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program and primary contractor Amentum used one of the five overhead cranes inside the spaceport’s Vehicle Assembly Building to lift the rocket stage from the facility’s transfer aisle to High Bay 3, where it was secured between the booster segments atop the launch tower.
In thi image, Artemis II Core Stage is lifted into High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, March 23, 2025.
Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
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Artemis II crew members, shown inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, stand in front of their Orion crew module with NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy on Aug. 8, 2023. From left are: Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist; Reid Wiseman, commander; and Christina Hammock Koch, mission specialist; and Victor Glover, pilot. The crew module is undergoing acoustic testing ahead of integration with the European Service Module. Artemis II is the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term lunar presence for science and exploration under Artemis. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
NASA rolled out a key piece of space flight hardware for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis campaign from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on Wednesday, Aug. 21 for shipment to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter connects the rocket’s core stage to the upper stage and helps protect the upper stage’s engine that will help propel the Artemis II test flight around the Moon, slated for 2025.
In this image, crews moved the cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter out of NASA Marshall’s Building 4708 to the agency’s Pegasus barge on August 21. The barge will ferry the adapter first to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, where it will pick up additional SLS hardware for future Artemis missions, and then travel to NASA Kennedy. In Florida, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will prepare the adapter for stacking and launch.
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NASA will roll the fully assembled core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will launch the first crewed #Artemis mission out of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans in mid-July. The 212-foot-tall stage will be loaded on the agency’s Pegasus barge for delivery to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Here, the core stage is currently behind scaffolding to allow work to continue at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The stage’s two massive propellant tanks hold a collective 733,000 gallons of liquid propellant to power the four RS-25 engines at its base. Following hardware acceptance reviews and final checkouts, the stage will be readied for delivery.
Image credit: NASA/ Eric Bordelon
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Engineers and technicians with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program integrate the right forward center segment onto mobile launcher 1 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. The boosters will help support the remaining rocket components and the Orion spacecraft during final assembly of the Artemis II Moon rocket and provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS (Space Launch System) thrust during liftoff from NASA Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39B
Credits: NASA
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This video shows how crews at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are manufacturing and assembling the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) for the second flight of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The launch vehicle stage adapter in this video will be used for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program. The launch vehicle stage adapter is a cone-shaped piece of hardware that connects the rocket’s upper and lower stages. The LVSA is welded together as two unique cones, then stacked on top of one another. Technicians recently moved the aft cone to begin welding the LVSA at Marshall. While the larger stages of the SLS rocket are manufactured at other NASA facilities, the LVSA flight hardware is produced exclusively at Marshall by Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville.
Image Credit: NASA
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Over the last month, NASA's Exploration Ground Systems team has made significant progress stacking NASA's Space Launch System solid rocket boosters for the #Artemis II mission.
Now, both boosters stand one aft assembly and one segment tall inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
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Credits: NASA
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Last week, NASA's Exploration Ground Systems team transported the forward assemblies of NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters in preparation for the Artemis II mission. These are the final pieces of the boosters to stack on mobile launcher 1 and will signify the completion of booster assembly at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Credits: NASA
#NASA #space #moon #NASAKennedy #NASAMarshall #msfc #sls #spacelaunchsystem #nasasls #rockets #exploration #artemis #rocketengine #ExplorationGroundSystems #EGS #ArtemisII
NASA rolled out the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s core stage for the Artemis II test flight from its manufacturing facility in New Orleans on Tuesday for shipment to the agency’s spaceport in Florida. The rollout is key progress on the path to NASA’s first crewed mission to the Moon under the Artemis campaign.
Using highly specialized transporters, engineers maneuvered the giant core stage from inside NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to the agency’s Pegasus barge. The barge will ferry the stage more than 900 miles to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where engineers will prepare it in the Vehicle Assembly Building for attachment to other rocket and Orion spacecraft elements.
In this image, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen watch move teams on July 16 transport the core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for delivery to the Space Coast. The core stage will help power their Artemis II mission to the Moon.
Credit: NASA/Sam Lott
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Over the weekend, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) for the NASA Artemis II mission was transported from United Launch Alliance’s Delta Operations Center in Cape Canaveral to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Next, NASA's Exploration Ground Systems technicians will fuel the SLS upper stage before transporting it to the center’s Vehicle Assembly Building for integration with the SLS rocket elements atop mobile launcher 1.
NASA's Space Launch System ICPS was built at the ULA facility in Decatur, Alabama, near NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
Credit: United Launch Alliance
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An Antonov aircraft sent the second European Service Module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft across the Atlantic in a custom-built container from Bremen, Germany, on 13 October 2021. It is the last stopover on Earth before this made-in–Europe powerhouse takes the first astronauts around the Moon on the Artemis II mission. Upon arrival at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the second European Service Module (ESM-2) will be connected to the crew module. Together they form the Orion spacecraft.
The service module is a critical element for Orion – it provides propulsion, power and thermal control and will supply astronauts with water and oxygen.
With parts made in ten countries in Europe, there is one element that returns to American soil after testing in Germany: the service module’s main engine is a refurbished engine from Space Shuttle Atlantis that will steer the spacecraft on its way to the Moon.
Credits: ESA–A. Conigli
The next milestone for NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is right around the corner as the cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter for NASA's Artemis II mission prepares to make its way from the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Standing 27.5 feet tall, the adapter plays a critical role by partially enclosing the rocket's interim cryogenic propulsion stage, connecting it to the core stage below and the Orion stage adapter above. Technicians with NASA and Teledyne Brown Engineering, LVSA lead contractor, work diligently to prepare the hardware before loading it onto NASA's Pegasus barge for its delivery to the Space Coast. Stacking of the rocket will soon begin at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, marking a pivotal step towards the agency sending a crew of four astronauts around the Moon during Artemis II. For more information about SLS, visit www.nasa.gov/sls
Credit: NASA
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While onboard the USS John P. Murtha, NASA and the Department of Defense practice Artemis II recovery operations with the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) in July of 2023. The CMTA is a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft and is used to verify the recovery team is ready to support crew recovery after missions to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
The Artemis II mission will embark on its journey around the Moon early next year — and now we’ve got the mission patch to mark the occasion.
The Moon represents our exploration destination, focused on discovery of the unknown. The Earth represents home, focused on the perspective we gain when we look back at our shared planet and learn what it is to be uniquely human. The orbit around Earth highlights the ongoing exploration missions that have enabled Artemis to set sights on a long-term presence on the Moon and soon, Mars.
Credit: NASA
Patch Designer: Greg Manchess
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NASA is making strides with the Artemis campaign as key components for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket continue to make their way to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Teams with NASA and Boeing loaded the core stage boat-tail for Artemis III and the core stage engine section for Artemis IV onto the agency’s Pegasus barge at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Aug. 28.
The core stage engine section of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for Artemis IV is loaded onto the agency’s Pegasus barge at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Aug. 28. The core stage hardware will be moved NASA’s to Kennedy’s Space Systems Processing Facility for outfitting.
Credit: NASA/Justin Robert
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From across the Atlantic Ocean and through the Gulf of Mexico, two ships converged, delivering key spacecraft and rocket components of NASA’s Artemis campaign to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
On Sept. 3, ESA (European Space Agency) marked a milestone in the Artemis III mission as its European-built service module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft completed a transatlantic journey from Bremen, Germany, to Port Canaveral, Florida, where technicians moved it to nearby NASA Kennedy. Transported aboard the Canopée cargo ship, the European Service Module—assembled by Airbus with components from 10 European countries and the U.S.—provides propulsion, thermal control, electrical power, and water and oxygen for its crews.
NASA’s Pegasus barge, the agency’s waterway workhorse for transporting large hardware by sea, ferried multi-mission hardware for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, the Artemis II launch vehicle stage adapter, the “boat-tail” of the core stage for Artemis III, the core stage engine section for Artemis IV, along with ground support equipment needed to move and assemble the large components. The barge pulled into NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B Turn Basin Thursday.
NASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying several pieces of hardware for Artemis II, III, and IV arrives at NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024.
Credits: NASA
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