HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA – NASA rolled out a key space component for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the first manned mission of NASA’s Artemis campaign from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and transported it to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
The conical launch vehicle stage adapter connects the rocket’s main stage to the upper stage and protects the upper stage engine that will enable Artemis II’s test flight around the Moon planned for 2025.
“The launch vehicle stage adapter is the largest SLS component for Artemis II manufactured at the center,” said Chris Calfee, element manager for SLS spacecraft payload integration and development.
“Both adapters for the SLS rocket that will power the Artemis II and Artemis III missions will be manufactured entirely at NASA Marshall. Alabama plays a key role in returning astronauts to the moon.”
Crews delivered the adapter from NASA’s Marshall Building 4708 to the agency’s Pegasus craft on August 21.
The ship will first transport the adapter to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where crews will pick up additional SLS hardware for future Artemis missions before continuing on to NASA Kennedy.
Once in Florida, the adapter is connected to the recently delivered core stage.
There, teams from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems are preparing the adapter for stacking and launch.
NASA Marshall engineering teams are in the final stages of integration work on the Artemis III launch vehicle stage adapter. The stage adapter is being manufactured by prime contractor Teledyne Brown Engineering and Jacobs Space Exploration Group’s Engineering Services and Science Capability Augmentation (ESSCA) contract, using NASA Marshall’s self-reacting friction stir robots and vertical welding tools.
As part of the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman, the first person of color, and their first international partner astronaut on the moon.
The rocket is part of NASA’s space exploration plans, along with the Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, state-of-the-art spacesuits and rovers, Gateway in lunar orbit, and commercial human landing systems.
NASA’s SLS is the only rocket capable of delivering Orion, astronauts and supplies to the moon in a single launch.
