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This close up of the crew access arm shows all work platforms retracted from around NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis II flight test will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth no later than no later than April 2026. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
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Liftoff! NASA's Space Launch System carrying the Orion spacecraft lifts off the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:47 a.m. EST on Nov. 16, 2022. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion's heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: Chris Coleman and Kevin Davis
Liftoff! NASA’s Space Launch System carrying the Orion spacecraft lifts off the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:47 a.m. EST on Nov. 16, 2022. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: Chris Coleman and Kevin Davis
The Artemis II astronauts, set to launch on a trip around the Moon next year, stand in front of the Orion spacecraft’s European Service Module-2 (ESM-2) that will provide everything they need to thrive on their voyage to Earth’s natural satellite.
From left, the skilled crew is composed of NASA’s Victor Glover, Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, and NASA’s Christina Koch and Reid Wiseman. Their collective experience underscores the collaborative essence of space exploration, as they prepare for the challenges of deep space travel and return.
The European Service Module-2 will provide crucial life support and necessary resources – water, air, electricity, communications and power – for their lunar voyage, ensuring their well-being and mission success. The made-in-Europe powerhouse encapsulates years of ingenuity and safeguards the crew from the harsh space environment.
Later this year, it will be connected through the Crew Module Adapter (CMA) – the doughnut shaped structure which can be seen on top of ESM-2 in the picture – to the crew capsule at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, to form the complete Orion spacecraft for the journey forward to the Moon.
Following the tradition of previous missions, the Artemis II crew exemplifies international partnership. United by purpose, they stand as a testament to humankind's pursuit of knowledge and adventure beyond our planet. With the European Service Module as their stalwart companion, the Artemis II astronauts are poised to etch their mark in the history of space exploration.
Credits: ESA–M. Cowan
NASA's Pegasus barge transported the first flight core stage for NASA's Space Launch System rocket from the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to Stennis Space Center in Mississippi on January 12. The stage which will be used for the first Artemis mission to the Moon rolled out from the Pegasus barge at the B-2 Test Stand. Once lifted and installed on the stand, the stage will undergo a series of integrated tests prior to its Artemis I flight. For a downloadable version of the video, go to
Video credit: NASA
This is the fully-assembled NASA Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion capsule, seen outside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center for the first time on March 17, 2022. Here the rocket is being transported to Launch Complex 39B, where it will undergo tests and a "wet dress rehearsal" in advance of the Artemis 1 mission.
For its inaugural launch, currently scheduled for mid-2022, the SLS will send the Orion capsule on a journey around the Moon and back.
The 4-mile journey to the pad took approximately 11-hours; The aptly named Crawler Transporter crawls along at about .8mph (1.28kph).
Liftoff! NASA's Space Launch System carrying the Orion spacecraft lifts off the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:47 a.m. EST on Nov. 16, 2022. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion's heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: Chris Coleman and Kevin Davis
#HappyNewYearMarshall
NASA’s Super Guppy, a wide-bodied cargo aircraft, landed at the Redstone Army Airfield near Huntsville, Ala. on March 26 with a special delivery: an innovative composite rocket fuel tank. The tank was manufactured at the Boeing Developmental Center in Tukwila, Wash. The tank will be unloaded from the Super Guppy, which has a hinged nose that opens and allows large cargos like the tank to be easily unloaded. After the tank is removed from the Super Guppy, it will be inspected and prepared for testing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The composite tank project is part of the Game Changing Development Program and NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate.
The mobile launcher with NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building’s High Bay 3 to Launch Complex 39B on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As part of the agency’s Artemis I flight test, the fully stacked and integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft is scheduled to liftoff on Monday, Aug. 29. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by launching Orion atop the SLS rocket, operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Several big pieces of hardware for the SLS rocket have rolled out recently, and this progress wouldn't be possible without the dedication of our workforce.
As we celebrate #LaborDay today, we thank all of the dedicated team members who work hard toward the future of deep space exploration.
Have a safe and happy holiday!
#Artemis #NASAMarshall #Space #NASASLS #NASA #NASAMichoud #NASAKennedy #PegasusBarge #LVSA #Artemis #ArtemisII #LaborDay
NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, standing atop the mobile launcher, arrive at Launch Pad 39B at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 18, 2022, for a wet dress rehearsal ahead of the uncrewed Artemis I launch. In view is the crawler-transporter 2, which carried the Artemis I stack from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad - a 4.2-mile journey that took nearly 11 hours to complete. Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
NASA and Boeing technicians have begun the second of three major activities to join the large structural parts of the core stage for NASA's deep space rocket, the Space Launch System. When this task is completed, four of the five major core stage structures -- most of the massive 212-foot stage-- will be assembled. Boeing and NASA will add the engine section and the four RS-25 engines to complete assembly of the core stage. This stage and its four RS-25 engines will produce 2 million pounds of thrust to help send the Artemis 1 Mission, the first integrated flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft to the Moon. Crews at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans moved the liquid hydrogen tank to the final assembly area at the facility to horizontally connect the massive propellant tank to the top of the core stage, which is made up of the forward skirt, the liquid oxygen tank and the intertank. They moved the forward structure to the final assembly area earlier this spring. Together, the forward structure combined with the liquid hydrogen tank is approximately 190-feet-long, and thus, makes up most of the core stage. The entire core stage will be the largest rocket stage NASA has ever built since manufacturing the Saturn V rocket stages in the same Michoud rocket factory.
NASA is working to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. 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 on a single mission.
Image credit: NASA/Eric Bordelon
Teams with NASA's Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs lower the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage - the largest part of the rocket - onto the mobile launcher, in between the twin solid rocket boosters, inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 12, 2021. The 188,000-pound core stage, with its four RS-25 engines, will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust during launch and ascent, and coupled with the boosters, will provide more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send the Artemis I mission to space. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, as well as establish a sustainable presence on the lunar surface in preparation for human missions to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
The initial configuration of NASA's Space Launch System will be able to launch payloads in a five-meter-class fairing compatible with current spacecraft designs.
(Concept updated Jan. 14, 2014)
Image credit: NASA
Read more:
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Space Launch System Flickr photoset:
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_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
In this view looking up inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, the work platforms are retracted around NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis II flight test will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth no later than no later than April 2026. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
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The RS-25 engine fires up for a 500-second test Jan. 9 at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. This is the first of eight tests for the development engine, which will provide NASA engineers with critical data on the engine controller unit and inlet pressure conditions.
Image credit: NASA
Read News Release:
www.nasa.gov/press/2015/january/rs-25-engine-testing-blazes-forward-for-nasas-space-launch-system/
More about SLS:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
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www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...
Space Launch System Flickr album
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
______________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Standing atop the mobile launcher, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft can be seen at Launch Pad 39B at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 18, 2022. The Artemis I stack was carried from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad - a 4.2-mile journey that took nearly 11 hours to complete - by the agency's crawler-transporter 2 for a wet dress rehearsal ahead of the uncrewed launch. Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Gorgeous photo of work being done on the Pegasus Barge.
This is the Pegasus barge that will be used to carry the large core stage of the Space Launch System, NASA’s new heavy-lift rocket that will carry future explorers to deep space.
A qualification test article for the liquid hydrogen tank on NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, is lifted off the Vertical Assembly Center after final welding at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. This giant tank isn't destined for space, but it will play a critical role in ensuring the safety of future explorers.
The liquid hydrogen qualification article closely replicates flight hardware and was built using identical processing procedures. SLS will have the largest cryogenic fuel tanks ever used on a rocket. The liquid hydrogen tank – along with a liquid oxygen tank – are part of the SLS core stage. The core stage is made up of the engine section, liquid hydrogen tank, intertank, liquid oxygen tank and forward skirt.
As four qualification articles of the core stage hardware are manufactured, they will be shipped on the Pegasus barge from Michoud to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for structural loads testing. Now that welding is finished, the liquid hydrogen tank hardware, standing at more than 130 feet tall, will be outfitted with sensors to record important data.
It will be tested in a new, twin-tower test stand currently under construction for the tank at the Marshall Center. Structural loads testing ensures that these huge structures can withstand the incredible stresses of launch. When completed, SLS will have the power and payload capacity needed to carry crew and cargo on exploration missions to deep space, including Mars.
For more information about NASA's Space Launch System, click here.
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights, click here.
Teams retracted the first two of 20 platforms surrounding the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft that allow work on the integrated system in High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The first platforms to be retracted – which move like hydraulic kitchen drawers when moved – are those located near the launch abort system on Orion in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B for the Artemis I wet dress rehearsal.
This artist concept shows the 70-metric-ton configuration of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) during flight. (Note: artist concept updated July 30, 2013)
The Space Launch System, or SLS, will be designed to carry the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, as well as important cargo, equipment and science experiments to Earth's orbit and destinations beyond.
America’s new heavy-lift rocket will be the largest launch vehicle ever built and more powerful than the Saturn V rocket that carried Apollo astronauts to the moon. The 70-metric-ton configuration (77 tons) will lift more than 154,000 pounds and will provide 10 percent more thrust than the Saturn V rocket. The 130-metric-ton-configuration (143 tons) will lift more than 286,000 pounds and provide 20 percent more thrust than the Saturn V.
The first SLS mission — Exploration Mission 1 — in 2017 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to demonstrate the integrated system performance of the SLS rocket and spacecraft prior to a crewed flight.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
More about SLS:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
More SLS Photos:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...
Space Launch System Flickr photoset:
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
A crane moves the first steel tier to be bolted into place on Jan. 6, for welding of a second new structural test stand at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama -- critical to development of NASA's Space Launch System. When completed in 2016, the 85-foot-tall Test Stand 4697 will use hydraulic cylinders to subject the liquid oxygen tank and hardware of the massive SLS core stage to the same loads and stresses it will endure during a launch.
The stand is rising in Marshall's West Test Area, where work is also underway on the 215-foot-tall towers of Test Stand 4693, which will conduct similar structural tests on the SLS core stage's liquid hydrogen tank. SLS, the most powerful rocket ever built, will carry astronauts in NASA's Orion spacecraft on deep space missions, including the journey to Mars. (NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton)
For more information on the Space Launch System, visit: www.nasa.gov/sls
More SLS Photos:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...
Space Launch System Flickr photoset:
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
#JourneyToMars #NASAMarshall #SLS
_______________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
LS
Final Segment Ready for Space Launch System Booster Test
The final segment of the full-scale version of a five-segment solid rocket motor for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, completed preparations Dec. 15 at ATK's facility in Promontory, Utah. After technicians installed instrumentation, the segment was transported to ATK's test area. There, it is being integrated with the other segments for the first booster qualification test firing, scheduled for March. SLS will be the most powerful rocket ever built for deep space missions, including to an asteroid and ultimately to Mars. ATK is the prime contractor for the boosters.
Image credit: ATK
More about SLS:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
More SLS Photos:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...
Space Launch System Flickr album
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Liftoff! NASA’s Space Launch System carrying the Orion spacecraft lifts off the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:47 a.m. EST on Nov. 16, 2022. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: Kevin O’Connell and Chris Coleman
The Artemis I Orion spacecraft, secured on the Space Launch System (SLS) and enclosed in its launch abort system, is in view high up in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 10, 2022. Work platforms are extended around Orion and scaffolding has been secured to allow access for inspection and processing work. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy. 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. Photo credit: NASA/Corey Houston
Chill Test, Warm Success
NASA engineers at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss., took a major step Dec. 11 towards hotfire testing of RS-25 rocket engines that will help power the new Space Launch System (SLS) on mis-sions to deep-space destinations. A-1 Test Stand operators at Stennis completed a chill test of developmental engine No. 0525, clearing the way for hotfire testing to begin in 2015. A chill test is a full-dress rehearsal for hotfire testing. During the test super-cold rocket propellants are flowed through stand and engine piping to ensure there are no problems with delivery. RS-25 engines are fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which flow at temperatures reaching less than -400 degrees Fahrenheit. During the chill test, engineers monitor such things as temperatures, pressures, and flow rates of the propellants. They also seek to verify the steps of the chill procedure and accurately gauge the amount of time needed to chill the pumps and engine for hotfire tests. Such data is studied to make any needed adjustments and to prepare the hotfire test sequence and requirements. A similar test was conducted earlier in the year without an engine installed. Liquid nitrogen was flowed through newly installed piping as a preliminary test of its design. Modification of the A-1 Test Stand for RS-25 testing has been under way for more than a year. Various stand components and configurations had to be changed to enable RS-25 testing. RS-25 engines are remaining space shuttle main engines, which have been modified for the SLS vehicle. A configuration of four RS-25 engines will power the SLS core stage. In addition to conducting development and acceptance testing of individual RS-25 engines on the A-1 stand, NASA engineers are making preparations to test the SLS core stage configuration with four RS-25 engines on the B-2 Test Stand at Stennis.
NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher are in view in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. All of the work platforms have been retracted in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B ahead of launch of Artemis I. The crawler-transporter, driven by engineers, is under the Artemis I stack atop the mobile launcher and will carry it 4.2 miles via the crawlerway that connects the VAB to the launch pad. The agency’s Artemis I flight test is scheduled to liftoff on Monday, Aug. 29. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by launching Orion atop the SLS rocket, operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
Artist concept of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) solid rocket boosters firing their separation rockets and pushing away from the core stage, which continues toward space with the Orion spacecraft.
(Note: artist concept current as of April 10, 2014)
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/s...
More about SLS:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
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Space Launch System Flickr photoset:
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_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Teams retracted the first two of 20 platforms surrounding the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft that allow work on the integrated system in High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The first platforms to be retracted – which move like hydraulic kitchen drawers when moved – are those located near the launch abort system on Orion in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B for the Artemis I wet dress rehearsal.
NASA’s Space Launch System standing tall at LC-39B, scheduled to send the Orion spacecraft to the Moon Monday, August 29. The 2-hour launch window for the #Artemis I mission opens at 8:33am (EDT)
#WeAreGoing
Monday morning view of the #SpaceLaunchSystem and Orion spacecraft. The #artemis mission launch window was scheduled from 8:33am to 10:33am, but the launch was called off because of issues with one of the rocket engines.
The next possible launch attempt is Friday, September 2.
#WeAreGoing
Crews at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center prepare the adapter for testing. The orange cylinder on top of the hardware is the upper load ring. Load lines of hydraulic pressure are put into the ring, which pushes down on the adapter to ensure the hardware won't bend or crack.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC/David Olive
Read more:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/structural-load-test...
More about SLS:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
More SLS Photos:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...
Space Launch System Flickr photoset:
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Mega moon rocket, meet your destination: The “Full Pink Moon” sets behind LC-39B and the SLS rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, seen Saturday morning.
Strong connection points between the stages of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) -- the agency’s advanced launch vehicle for exploration beyond Earth’s orbit into deep space -- are essential to ensure that the rocket will withstand the loads it may experience during flight. The Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter, or LVSA, plays an important role in connecting two major sections of the rocket -- the core stage and the upper stage.
The upper stage, known as the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, gives the Orion spacecraft the big, in-space push needed to fly beyond the moon before the spacecraft returns to Earth for the first flight test of SLS. The Orion spacecraft is connected to the upper stage with the Orion Stage Adapter.
Welding of the major panels of a test version of the LVSA began in August at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where the agency manages the SLS program.
Read Full article here: www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/construction-begins-...
More about SLS:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
More SLS Photos:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...
Space Launch System Flickr photoset:
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
_______________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
A 170-foot powerhouse -- the Vertical Assembly Center (VAC) -- is near completion and will soon be ready to build the core stage of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS). SLS will be the most powerful rocket in history for deep space missions, including to an asteroid and ultimately to Mars.
This photo taken with a special camera lens shows the VAC, the world's largest spacecraft welding tool -- part of a family of tools at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. These tools are specifically designed to build the core stage, which will store cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will feed the vehicle’s RS-25 engines. The core stage is comprised of five major structures: the forward skirt, the liquid oxygen tank, the intertank, the liquid hydrogen tank and the engine section.
The core stage recently passed its critical design review -- a major milestone for the program which proves the first new design for America's next great rocket is mature enough for production. Boeing is the prime contractor for the SLS core stage, including avionics.
The first flight test of the SLS will feature a configuration for a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit to test the performance of the integrated system. As the SLS evolves, it will provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons) to enable missions even farther into our solar system to places like Mars.
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/sls/multimedia/gallery/maf-vac-progess.html
Image credit: NASA
More about SLS:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
More SLS Photos:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...
Space Launch System Flickr album
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Crews delivered the last of four RS-25 engines for Artemis 1, the first flight of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft, from NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans Thursday, June 27, 2019. The engines, located at the bottom of the rocket's massive core stage, are fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. When Artemis 1 launches to the Moon, the four RS-25 engines will fire nonstop for 8.5 minutes, providing the rocket 2 million of its 8.8 million pounds of maximum thrust at liftoff. Technicians from NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne, the lead contractor for the engines, at Michoud will now prepare the four engines for installation to the rest of the core stage later this summer.
NASA is working to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. 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 on a single mission.
Image credit: Aerojet Rocketdyne
Technicians with NASA's Exploration Ground Systems lower a mock-up, or pathfinder, of the Space Launch System's (SLS) center booster segment onto an aft pathfinder segment inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 14, 2020. Teams rehearsed stacking both pathfinder segments on top of the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the VAB in preparation for the Artemis I launch. Stacking of the actual SLS booster segments will occur later this year, when the rocket's core stage arrives at Kennedy. Artemis I is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will test SLS and the Orion spacecraft as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The SLS is an advanced, heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for science and human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit.
The Journey to Mars became more real this week. For the first time in almost 40 years, a NASA human-rated rocket has completed all steps needed to clear a critical design review (CDR). The agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) is the first vehicle designed to meet the challenges of the journey to Mars and the first exploration class rocket since the Saturn V. The CDR provided a final look at the design and development of the integrated launch vehicle before full-scale fabrication begins.
Also as part of the CDR, the program concluded the core stage of the rocket and Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter will remain orange, the natural color of the insulation that will cover those elements, instead of painted white.
Image Credit: NASA/MSFC
(Artist concept updated Oct. 20, 2015)
Monday night on the Space Coast as the Full Moon rises over NASA’s Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft, ready to ride out incoming T/S Nicole.
At 10pm (ET), August 16, the NASA-built SLS rocket & Orion began its (hopefully) final trip from the Vehicle Assembly Building to LC-39B.
Shortly after rollout began, Orion's destination, the Moon, made a dramatic appearance. It was spectacular.
After its journey from NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi aboard the Pegasus barge, the mighty Space Launch System (SLS) core stage arrives at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 27, 2021. The core stage is the final piece of Artemis hardware to arrive at the spaceport and will be offloaded and moved to Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher with the completed stack of solid rocket boosters ahead of the Artemis I launch. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Mike Downs
Artist's concept of NASA's Space Launch System initial crew vehicle launching from the Kennedy Space Center.
(Note: artist concept updated July 30, 2013)
America’s new heavy-lift rocket will be the largest launch vehicle ever built and more powerful than the Saturn V rocket that carried Apollo astronauts to the moon. The 70-metric-ton configuration (77 tons) will lift more than 154,000 pounds and will provide 10 percent more thrust than the Saturn V rocket. The 130-metric-ton-configuration (143 tons) will lift more than 286,000 pounds and provide 20 percent more thrust than the Saturn V.
The first SLS mission — Exploration Mission 1 — in 2017 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to demonstrate the integrated system performance of the SLS rocket and spacecraft prior to a crewed flight.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
Original image:
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These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Teams with NASA's Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs lower the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage - the largest part of the rocket - onto the mobile launcher, in between the twin solid rocket boosters, inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 12, 2021. The 188,000-pound core stage, with its four RS-25 engines, will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust during launch and ascent, and coupled with the boosters, will provide more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send the Artemis I mission to space. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, as well as establish a sustainable presence on the lunar surface in preparation for human missions to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida are reflected in the nearby waterway on Aug. 19, 2022. Launch of Artemis I is scheduled for no earlier than Aug. 29, 2022, at 8:33 a.m. EDT. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
A full-scale, test version of the booster for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, will fire up for the second of two qualification ground tests June 28 at prime contractor Orbital ATK's test facility in Promontory, Utah.
The test will provide NASA with critical data to support booster qualification for flight. The first, full-scale booster qualification ground test was successfully completed in March 2015, which demonstrated acceptable performance of the booster design at high-temperature conditions. The second test will measure the booster’s performance at a cold motor conditioning target of 40 degrees Fahrenheit – which is the colder end of its accepted propellant temperature range. Testing at the thermal extremes experienced by the booster on the launch pad is important to understand the effect of the temperature range on the ballistic performance of the propellant.
When completed, two five-segment boosters and four RS-25 main engines will power the world's most powerful rocket, with the Orion spacecraft atop, to achieve human exploration to deep-space destinations, including our journey to Mars.
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These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
The two-tower steel Test Stand 4693 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, seen here under construction on Dec. 14, 2015, will be 215-feet-tall when completed in late 2016. Hydraulic cylinders at Test Stand 4693 will push, pull and bend the liquid hydrogen tank of the SLS’s massive core stage to subject the tank and hardware to the same loads and stresses they will endure during launch.
Image Credit: NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given
For more information on the Space Launch System, visit: www.nasa.gov/sls
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Space Launch System Flickr photoset:
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#JourneyToMars #NASAMarshall #SLS
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These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
LS
The Artemis I Orion spacecraft, secured on the Space Launch System and enclosed in its launch abort system, is in view high up in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 8, 2022. Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate NASA’s capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft’s integrated systems before crewed missions. Under Artemis, NASA aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon and establish sustainable lunar exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
The Artemis II rocket has reached its launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States, ready for a historic journey. Over the weekend, engineers slowly and carefully rolled the nearly 100-metre-tall Space Launch System rocket from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B. The 6.5-km journey took around 12 hours and was carried out using NASA’s crawler-transporter, which has been moving rockets to launch pads for over 50 years.
Standing nearly 100 m tall, the Space Launch System will weigh approximately 2.6 million kg once fully fuelled and ready for liftoff. At its top sits the Orion spacecraft, bearing the ESA and NASA logos and designed to carry four astronauts on a 10-day lunar flyby mission. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight of the Artemis programme and the first time humans have ventured towards the Moon in over 50 years.
Their journey depends on our European Service Module, built by industry from more than 10 countries across Europe. This powerhouse will take over once Orion separates from the rocket, supplying electricity from its four seven-metre long solar arrays, providing air and water for the crew, and performing key propulsion burns during the mission, including the critical trans-lunar injection that sends the spacecraft on its trajectory towards the Moon.
European engineers will be at mission control around the clock, monitoring operations from ESA’s ESTEC site in the Netherlands and alongside NASA teams in the Mision Evaluation Room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The European Service Module’s main engine carries a unique legacy. Originally flown on six Space Shuttle missions between 2000 and 2002, the engine was refurbished and tested after two decades in storage and installed on the second European Service Module at Airbus in Bremen, Germany, giving this historic piece of hardware a new role in deep-space exploration.
The next major milestone is the wet dress rehearsal, during which teams will practise fuelling the rocket and running through the launch countdown, bringing Artemis II one step closer to launch.
Credits: ESA-S. Corvaja
Inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the NASA worm logo is in view on one of two solid rocket boosters for the Artemis I Space Launch System on Aug. 8, 2022. Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate NASA’s capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft’s integrated systems before crewed missions. Under Artemis, NASA aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon and establish sustainable lunar exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux