May 10, 2024

Rocketing to the Moon: NASA’s Artemis II Core Stage Nears Final Assembly

These images and videos reveal how professionals at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans installed the second of four RS-25 engines onto the core stage for the companys SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASAs very first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon.
Following soft mate of all four engines, specialists with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will totally secure the engines to the phase and incorporate the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. All 4 RS-25 engines are situated at the base of the core stage within the engine area.
NASA is working to land the very first lady and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS becomes part of NASAs foundation for deep area expedition, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send out Orion, astronauts, and products to the Moon in a single objective. Credit: NASA/ Michael Democker

All major hardware elements for the SLS rocket that will release Artemis II are either complete or in progress. The major elements for the rockets two solid rocket boosters are at Kennedy. The rockets two adapters, produced at Marshall, together with the rockets upper stage, currently at lead specialist United Launch Alliances center in Florida near Kennedy, will be gotten ready for delivery in the spring.
NASA is working to land the very first female and very first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS becomes part of NASAs backbone for deep space expedition, together with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and business human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

NASA and market partners Aerojet Rocketdyne and Boeing have actually installed all 4 RS-25 engines onto the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core phase for the firms Artemis II mission, signaling the core stage is nearing completion. Service technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead professional, will now focus efforts on the complicated tax of totally protecting the engines to the stage and incorporating the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. Following soft mate of all 4 engines, technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies business and the RS-25 engines lead specialist, along with Boeing, the core phase lead professional, will fully secure the engines to the stage and integrate the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. Following soft mate of all four engines, specialists with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core phase lead contractor, will totally secure the engines to the stage and incorporate the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. Following soft mate of all 4 engines, technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies business and the RS-25 engines lead professional, along with Boeing, the core phase lead specialist, will fully protect the engines to the phase and integrate the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure.

These videos and images reveal how specialists at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans set up the second of four RS-25 engines onto the core phase for the companys SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASAs first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon.
Following soft mate of all four engines, specialists with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead specialist, along with Boeing, the core stage lead specialist, will completely protect the engines to the phase and incorporate the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. All four RS-25 engines are situated at the base of the core stage within the engine section.
NASA is working to land the very first lady and very first individual of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASAs backbone for deep area expedition, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon.

Structural and Technical Aspects of the Core Stage
The 212-foot-tall core stage includes 2 huge liquid propellant tanks and four RS-25 engines at its base. For Artemis II, the core stage and its engines function as the powerhouse of the rocket, offering more than two million pounds of thrust for the first eight minutes of flight to send out the crew of four astronauts inside NASAs Orion spacecraft on an approximately 10-day objective around the Moon.
NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies business and the RS-25 engines lead professional, together with Boeing, the core phase lead professional, protected the engines to the labyrinth of propulsion and avionics systems within the core phase on October 6. In the coming weeks, engineers will perform testing on the entire phase and its avionics and electrical systems, which serve as the “brains” of the rocket to help manage it during flight.
As soon as testing of the phase is total and the hardware passes its acceptance evaluation, the core stage will be prepared for delivering to Kennedy via the companys Pegasus barge, based at Michoud.
We need the biggest rocket phase ever developed for the vibrant objectives in deep space that NASAs Space Launch System rocket will provide us the capability to accomplish. This infographic sums up everything you need to understand about the SLS core stage, the 212-foot-tall phase that acts as the backbone of the most powerful rocket worldwide. The core stage includes the liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank that hold 733,000 gallons of propellant to power the stages 4 RS-25 engines required for liftoff and the journey to Mars. Credit: NASA/MSFC
As teams prepare the core phase for Artemis II, rocket hardware is also under construction on our factory flooring for Artemis III, IV, and V that will assist send out the future Artemis astronauts to the lunar South Pole.
The engines were very first soft mated one by one onto the stage start in early September. The last RS-25 engine was structurally installed onto the phase on September 20. Installing the 4 engines is a multi-step, collaborative procedure for NASA, Boeing, and Aerojet Rocketdyne.
Following the preliminary structural connections of the individual engines, securing and outfitting all four engines to the stage is the lengthiest part of the engine assembly process and consists of protecting the thrust vector control actuators, supplementary user interfaces, and staying bolts before numerous tests and checkouts.

Engineers and technicians from NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Boeing at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have set up all four RS-25 engines to the core phase for NASAs Space Launch System rocket that will assist power the first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. The yellow core phase is seen in a horizontal position in the last assembly location at Michoud. The engines are set up at the bottom of the rocket phase in a square pattern, like legs on a table. Credit: NASA/Eric Bordelon
NASA, partnering with Aerojet Rocketdyne and Boeing, has made considerable development on the SLS rocket for the Artemis II objective, intending to land the first female and person of color on the Moon.
NASA and industry partners Aerojet Rocketdyne and Boeing have actually set up all four RS-25 engines onto the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core phase for the agencys Artemis II mission, indicating the core phase is nearing conclusion. When total, the core stage will be shipped to NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies business, is the lead specialist and Boeing is the core phase lead professional.
Learn whatever you need to learn about the RS-25 Engines that will help make SLS the most effective rocket worldwide. Credit: NASA/MSFC
The Significance of the Core Stage and Testing Phases
NASA and its partners have fully protected the 4 RS-25 engines onto the core phase of the companys SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the Artemis II flight test. The core phase, and its engines, is the foundation of the SLS mega rocket that will power the flight test, the first crewed mission to the Moon under Artemis.

Engineers have begun final integration screening at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, in preparation for acceptance ahead of delivery of the phase to Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the coming months.
These images show how service technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans set up the 3rd and 4th RS-25 engines onto the core phase for the firms SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will assist power NASAs first crewed Artemis objective to the Moon. Credit: NASA/ Eric Bordelon
” NASA integrated numerous lessons discovered from the novice develop and assembly of the SLS core stage for Artemis I to increase performances throughout manufacturing and cross-team partnership with our partners for Artemis II. NASA teams in New Orleans remain focused on putting together and preparing the SLS rockets liquid-fueled stage to support the flight.”– Julie Bassler, Manager of the Stages Office for the SLS Program

These photos show how technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans installed the 3rd and fourth RS-25 engines onto the core phase for the companys SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will assist power NASAs very first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon.
Service technicians included the first engine to the SLS core phase Sept. 11. The second engine was installed onto the stage Sept. 15 with the 4th and third engines following Sept. 19 and Sept. 20. Professionals with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead professional, along with Boeing, the core phase lead contractor, will now focus efforts on the intricate tax of totally securing the engines to the phase and incorporating the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure.

These images and videos demonstrate how specialists at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans set up the second of 4 RS-25 engines onto the core stage for the agencys SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASAs very first crewed Artemis objective to the Moon.
Teams included the second engine, with the identification number E2047 in position one, to the stage Sept. 15. The serial number for the engine installed Sept. 11 in position two on the core stage is E2059. Engineers consider the engines to be “soft” mated to the rocket stage. Following soft mate of all four engines, specialists with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies business and the RS-25 engines lead professional, together with Boeing, the core stage lead specialist, will totally protect the engines to the phase and incorporate the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. All 4 RS-25 engines lie at the base of the core phase within the engine area.
NASA is working to land the first female and first individual of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS belongs to NASAs foundation for deep area exploration, together 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 objective. Credit: NASA/ Eric Bordelon