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.
As the newest addition to the mobile launcher, the core stage is the largest component of the rocket, standing 212 feet tall. The stage is the backbone of the rocket, supporting the launch vehicle stage adapter, interim cryogenic propulsion stage, Orion stage adapter, and the Orion spacecraft for the agency’s crewed Artemis II mission. The adapter will be the next element integrated and will be lifted and secured atop the core stage in the coming weeks.
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.