Engineers and technicians with the Exploration Ground Systems Program stack the first Moon rocket segment – the left aft assembly for the Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket booster onto mobile launcher 1 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024.
Engineers and technicians inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida stacked the first segment of the Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket boosters onto mobile launcher 1.
Comprising 10 segments total – five segments for each booster – the SLS solid rocket boosters arrived via train to NASA Kennedy in September 2023 from Northrop Grumman’s manufacturing facility in Utah. The booster segments underwent processing in the spaceport’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility before being transferred to the NASA’s iconic VAB for stacking operations.
Technicians inside the 525-foot-tall facility used an overhead crane to lift the left aft assembly onto the mobile launcher. Up next, workers will install the right aft assembly, placing it carefully onto the 380-foot-tall structure used to process, assemble, and launch the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.
The first components of the Artemis II Moon rocket to be stacked, the solid rocket boosters will help support the remaining rocket segments and the Orion spacecraft during final assembly. At launch, the 177-foot-tall twin solid rocket boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust during liftoff from NASA Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39B.
Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare to move mobile launcher 1 atop the agency’s crawler-transporter 2 from Launch Complex 39B to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. The crawler recently reached 2,500 miles traveling to the launch pad since its construction in 1965. The mobile launcher has been at the launch pad since August 2023 undergoing upgrades and tests in preparation for NASA’s Artemis II mission. The mobile launcher will be used to assemble, process, and launch NASA’s SLS (Space Launch Systems) and Orion spacecraft to the Moon and beyond.
NASA rolled closer to integrating elements of the Artemis II Moon rocket together as teams with the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems Program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida began moving the mobile launcher 1 from Launch Complex 39B along a 4.2 mile stretch back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. First motion of the mobile launcher, atop NASA’s crawler-transporter 2, occurred at 12:09 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 3.
Teams rolled the mobile launcher out to Kennedy’s Pad 39B in August 2023 for upgrades and a series of ground demonstration tests in preparation for NASA’s Artemis II mission. These preparations ranged from a launch day demonstration for the crew, closeout crew, and the pad rescue team, to testing the emergency egress system, water flow system, and the new liquid hydrogen sphere at the launch pad.
On its way to transport the mobile launcher back from the pad, NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 also achieved a milestone nearly 60 years in the making. Already designated by Guinness World Records as the heaviest self-powered vehicle – larger than a baseball infield and weighing approximately 6.65 million pounds – the crawler reached 2,500 miles traveled since its construction in 1965.
The mobile launcher is expected to arrive outside the Vehicle Assembly Building around 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct.3, before the Exploration Ground Systems teams move it into High Bay 3 on Friday, Oct.4.
Follow the livestream of the mobile launcher on the move.
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on Tuesday, July 23, 2024. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage for the Artemis II mission is inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Tugboats and towing vessels moved the barge and core stage 900-miles to the Florida spaceport from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where it was manufactured and assembled.
Team members with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program safely transferred the 212-foot-tall core stage from the agency’s Pegasus barge, which arrived at NASA Kennedy’s Complex 39 turn basin wharf on July 23, onto the self-propelled module transporter, which is used to move large elements of hardware. It was then rolled to the Vehicle Assembly Building transfer aisle where teams will process it until it is ready for rocket stacking operations.
In the coming months, teams will integrate the rocket core stage atop the mobile launcher with the additional Artemis II flight hardware, including the twin solid rocket boosters, launch vehicle stage adapter, and the Orion spacecraft.
The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under the Artemis campaign, sending NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back.
Technicians used a 30-ton crane to lift NASA’s Orion spacecraft on Friday, June 28, 2024, from the Final Assembly and System Testing (FAST) cell to the altitude chamber inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft, which will be used for the Artemis II mission to orbit the Moon, underwent leak checks and end-to-end performance verification of the vehicle’s subsystems.
NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission was lifted out of the Final Assembly and System Testing cell on June 28 inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The integrated spacecraft has been undergoing final rounds of testing and assembly, including end-to-end performance verification of its subsystems and checking for leaks in its propulsion systems.
A 30-ton crane returned Orion into the recently renovated altitude chamber where it underwent electromagnetic testing. The spacecraft now will undergo a series of vacuum chamber qualification testing. The tests will subject the spacecraft to a near-vacuum environment by removing air, thus creating a space where the pressure is extremely low. This results in no atmosphere, similar to the one the spacecraft will experience during future lunar missions.
Testing will span approximately a week, with technicians collecting data from the spacecraft’s chamber, cabin, and the environmental control and life support system to test spacesuit functionality. The data recorded during these tests will be used to qualify the spacecraft to safely fly the Artemis II astronauts through the harsh environment of space.
On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission lifted off on a Saturn V rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centerin Florida. Crowds gathered with their eyes craned toward the sky, asNASA set out to make history with their next giant leap – landing astronauts on the Moon.
One historical member watching the launch, JoAnn Morgan, instrumentation controller for Apollo 11, and the only female in the firing room inside NASA’s Launch Control Center.
Members of the Kennedy Space Center government-industry team rise from their consoles within the Launch Control Center to watch the Apollo 11 liftoff through a window. JoAnn Morgan is seated to the left of center in the third row. Photo credit: NASA
“I look at that picture of the firing room where I’m the only woman. And I hope all the pictures now that show people working on the missions to the Moon and onto Mars, in rooms like mission Control or launch Control or wherever — that there will always be several women. I hope that photos like the ones I’m in don’t exist anymore,” said Morgan.
NASA is hard at work 55 years later returning astronauts to the Moon with the Artemiscampaign which will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon – and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. With these new missions supporting lunar exploration, Morgan’s hope for several women in the STEM field is coming true.
Today, in that very same room where Morgan once sat as the only female engineer, dozens of women sit on console preparing to launch the mighty SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft back to the Moon for Artemis II. The room itself is not only full of a diverse group of engineers, but leading the team to liftoff is NASA’s first female Launch Director, Charlie Blackwell Thompson.
The women of Artemis launch team pose for a photo wearing green for “go” inside the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
This Women’s History Month, female leaders within the space industry met at NASA Kennedy to reflect on what mentorship means to them.
“JoAnn, you did show us, whether you knew it at the time or not, that we belong in this room,” Blackwell-Thompson said. “Because of the work you did all those years ago, you made it possible for me.”
The leaders meeting shared their thoughts on ways women can lead in the space industry.
Sharing is caring Sharing is the basis of mentorship. Share your experiences either as a guiding tool or a lesson learned.
An attitude of gratitude We grow stronger when we grow together. Shine the light their way and give them a moment in the sun. A sense of gratitude and encouragement amongst others can make a huge difference in the effectiveness of the team.
Stepping up to the plate How can you be a person of action?
Growing pains are good Just like physical growing pains, experiencing uncomfortableness in your career can be a sign of growth. Outperformance will feel uncomfortable. Trying something new will feel uncomfortable.Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Define how others view you Deliver on your word. Do the right thing when nobody is looking. Be the person you would want on your team.
Leadership is not defined by your title Rise to the challenge within your everyday activities. Inspire those around you and offer a helping hand when it is needed. You can embody all of the characteristics of someone who leads long before you have the words manager, supervisor, or director in your official title.
Identify your board of advisors Just like any company trying to grow, your career deserves a board of advisors to grow. Create a space where you can talk your career navigation. Your board of advisors can change over periods of time and take shape in formal or informal relationships.
Bet on yourself At every stage in your career, you hold power. Ask for a new challenge, the power to say no, and the power to ask for help.
Surround yourself with the best of the best Teams can only be the best of the best when they include diverse thought. Be mindful of who you can collaborate with that will bring ideas unique from yours.
Make your mistakes matter What did you learn? What can you teach others? How will this mistake lead you in the future?
The work NASA does today, wouldn’t be possible without the mentors who have blazed the trail before. NASA Kennedy Center DirectorJanet Petro shares the importance of this teamwork, reminding us, “We are not doing any of this work for just ourselves, it is for the bigger goals of the agency and humanity.”
Intergration of the crew and service modules for the Artemis II Orion spacecraft was recently completed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA
On Oct. 19, the Orion crew and service modules for the Artemis II mission were joined together inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
After successfully completing hardware installations and testing over the past several months, engineers connected the two major components of Orion that will fly NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a mission around the Moon and bring them home safely.
Now that the crew and service modules are integrated, the team will power up the combined crew and service module for the first time. After power on tests are complete, Orion will begin altitude chamber testing, which will put the spacecraft through conditions as close as possible to the environment it will experience in the vacuum of deep space.
Artemis II crew members, shown inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, check out their Orion crew module on Aug. 8, 2023. From left are: Victor Glover, pilot; Reid Wiseman, commander; Christina Hammock Koch, mission specialist; and Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist. The crew module is undergoing acoustic testing ahead of integration with the European Service Module. Artemis II is the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term lunar presence for science and exploration under Artemis. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
On Aug. 13, engineers and technicians inside the high bay of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida successfully completed a series of acoustic tests to ensure the Orion spacecraft for NASA’s Artemis II mission can withstand the speed and vibration it will experience during launch and throughout the 10-day mission around the Moon, the first Artemis mission with astronauts.
During the testing, engineers surrounded the crew module with large stacks of speakers, and attached microphones, accelerometers, and other equipment to measure the effects of different acoustic levels. Engineers and technicians will now analyze the data collected during the tests.
Prior to testing, the four Artemis II astronauts visited the high bay and viewed their ride to the Moon. With this test complete, technicians at Kennedy are on track to integrate Orion’s crew and service modules this fall.
From left (front to back), NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch, and Reid Wiseman, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, pose inside the Vehicle Advanced Demonstrator for Emergency Recovery (VADR) during a tour of Naval Base San Diego on July 19, 2023. VADR is a replica of the Orion crew module that will carry the astronauts around the Moon on Artemis II. Photo credit: U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Samoluk
The Artemis II crew – NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen – visited Naval Base San Diego on July 19 ahead of the first Artemis II recovery test in the Pacific Ocean, Underway Recovery Test-10. The test will build on the success of Artemis I recovery and ensure NASA and the Department of Defense personnel can safely recover astronauts and their Orion spacecraft after their trip around the Moon on the first crewed Artemis mission.
The crew met with recovery team members from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program and the Department of Defense to learn more about the recovery process for their mission, which includes being extracted from the spacecraft after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean and being lifted via helicopter to the recovery ship where they will undergo routine medical checks before returning to shore.
The visit included a walkdown of the ground equipment and facilities the team uses to practice recovery procedures along with a walkthrough of the recovery ship. The crew will participate in full recovery testing at sea next year.
