![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/sls-core-stage.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>NASA rolled out the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket\u2019s core stage for the Artemis II<\/a> test flight from its manufacturing facility in New Orleans on Tuesday for shipment to the agency\u2019s spaceport in Florida. The rollout is key progress on the path to NASA\u2019s first crewed mission to the Moon under the Artemis campaign.<\/p>\n Using highly specialized transporters, engineers maneuvered the giant core stage<\/a> from inside NASA\u2019s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to the agency\u2019s Pegasus barge. The barge will ferry the stage more than 900 miles to NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where engineers will prepare it in the Vehicle Assembly Building for attachment to other rocket and Orion spacecraft elements.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Artemis, we\u2019ve 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,\u201d said Catherine Koerner, associate administrator for NASA\u2019s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cThe SLS rocket is a key component of our efforts to develop a long-term presence at the Moon.\u201d<\/p>\n Technicians moved the SLS rocket stage from inside NASA Michoud on the 55th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. The move of the rocket stage for Artemis marks the first time since the Apollo Program that a fully assembled Moon rocket stage for a crewed mission rolled out from NASA Michoud.<\/p>\n The SLS<\/a> rocket\u2019s core stage is the largest NASA has ever produced. At 212 feet tall, it consists of five major elements, including two huge propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant to feed four RS-25 engines. During launch and flight, the stage will operate for just over eight minutes, producing more than 2 million pounds of thrust to propel four astronauts inside NASA\u2019s Orion<\/a> spacecraft toward the Moon.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d said John Honeycutt, SLS program manager at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. \u201cWe are motivated by the success of Artemis I and focused on working toward the first crewed flight under Artemis.\u201d<\/p>\n After arrival at NASA Kennedy, the stage will undergo additional outfitting inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. Engineers then will join it with the segments that form the rocket\u2019s twin solid rocket boosters. Adapters for the Moon rocket that connect it to the Orion spacecraft will be shipped to NASA Kennedy this fall, while the interim cryogenic propulsion stage is already in Florida. Engineers continue to prepare Orion, already at Kennedy, and exploration ground systems for launch and flight.<\/p>\n All major structures for every SLS core stage are fully manufactured at NASA Michoud. Inside the factory, core stages and future exploration upper stages<\/a> for the next evolution of SLS, called the Block 1B configuration, currently are in various phases of production for Artemis III, IV, and V. Beginning with Artemis III, to better optimize space at Michoud, Boeing, the SLS core stage prime contractor, will use space at NASA Kennedy for final assembly and outfitting activities<\/a>.<\/p>\n Building, assembling, and transporting the SLS core stage is a collaborative effort for NASA, Boeing, and lead RS-25 engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company. All 10 NASA centers contribute to its development with more than 1,100 companies across the United States contributing to its production.\u00a0<\/p>\n NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA\u2019s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.<\/p>\n For more on NASA\u2019s Artemis campaign, visit:\u00a0<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/artemis<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n -end-\u00a0<\/p>\n Madison Tuttle\/Rachel Kraft Corinne Beckinger\u00a0
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
madison.e.tuttle@nasa.gov<\/a>\/rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.\u00a0
256-544-0034 \u00a0
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\nShare<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n