Astronauts participating in the Artemis mission are preparing to fly the farthest in history aboard the Orion spacecraft in 2024, with their launch vehicle also in the assembly phase.
The SLS rocket during assembly. (Video: NASA).
In a video shared by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the Artemis 2 mission is being constructed at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. All five sections of the 65-meter-long rocket body are being connected, with the engine block appearing to be the final component. From the video, engineers can be seen working to align and secure the bottom part of the SLS with the entire stage, as reported by Space on April 24.
A mobile platform is used to slowly push the large components into position, then secure them together with a total of 360 bolts. Next, technicians will move the assembled core stage into place to install the four RS-25 engines of the vehicle. Once completed, the SLS core stage will be transported across the Gulf of Mexico to Florida, where the complete launch vehicle will take shape.
All five sections of the 65-meter-long rocket body are connected, with the engine block appearing to be the final component.
Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the ground team will attach solid rocket boosters to the rocket and integrate the core stage with the second stage of the rocket, known as the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), along with the Orion spacecraft and service module.
If everything goes according to schedule, NASA will launch the Artemis mission in November 2024. The mission will carry four astronauts on a test flight around the Moon before returning to Earth to test and evaluate various systems and procedures on the Orion spacecraft. Data collected during the flight will provide insights for subsequent missions in the Artemis program. The Artemis 2 crew will include three NASA astronauts: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
