The massive core stage was carefully moved from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to NASA's Pegasus barge, which will carry it over 900 miles to the Kennedy Space Center. Once there, it will be integrated with other rocket and Orion spacecraft components in the Vehicle Assembly Building.

"With Artemis, we've set our sights on doing something big and incredibly complex that will inspire a new generation, advance our scientific endeavors, and move U.S. competitiveness forward," said Catherine Koerner, associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The SLS rocket is a key component of our efforts to develop a long-term presence at the Moon."

This movement of the SLS core stage is historically significant as it coincides with the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch on July 16, 1969, and is the first time a fully assembled Moon rocket stage for a crewed mission has rolled out from NASA Michoud since the Apollo Program.

The 212-foot-tall core stage is the largest NASA has ever built, featuring five major elements, including two vast propellant tanks holding over 733,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant. These tanks fuel four RS-25 engines, generating more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft toward the Moon.

"The delivery of the SLS core stage for Artemis II to Kennedy Space Center signals a shift from manufacturing to launch readiness as teams continue to make progress on hardware for all major elements for future SLS rockets," said John Honeycutt, SLS program manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. "We are motivated by the success of Artemis I and focused on working toward the first crewed flight under Artemis."

Upon its arrival at Kennedy, the core stage will undergo additional preparations in the Vehicle Assembly Building. It will then be joined with the rocket's twin solid rocket boosters and other critical components. Adapters that connect the rocket to the Orion spacecraft will arrive at Kennedy later this year, and the interim cryogenic propulsion stage is already in Florida. Orion and the exploration ground systems are also being readied for launch and flight.

All SLS core stages are manufactured at NASA Michoud. Currently, stages for Artemis III, IV, and V are in production, with Boeing, the SLS core stage prime contractor, conducting final assembly and outfitting at both Michoud and NASA Kennedy to optimize space.

The construction and delivery of the SLS core stage involve collaboration between NASA, Boeing, and Aerojet Rocketdyne, the lead contractor for the RS-25 engines. This effort includes contributions from all 10 NASA centers and over 1,100 companies across the U.S.

Under the Artemis program, NASA aims to land the first woman, the first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon. The SLS rocket, along with the Orion spacecraft, ground systems, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Lunar Gateway, and commercial human landing systems, forms the foundation of NASA's deep space exploration efforts. The SLS is the only rocket capable of launching Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

For more on NASA's Artemis campaign, visit here

Related Links
Artemis 2 Mission
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com