The Forward Skirt for the Space Launch System's Fourth Flight Continues to Undergo Assembly in Louisiana...

NASA / Michael DeMocker

Forward Skirt for Artemis IV’s Core Stage Moves to Next Phase of Production (Photo Release - September 16)

Crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the forward skirt of a core stage that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket out of the Vertical Weld Center on September 16, 2022. The forward skirt will be used for NASA’s Artemis IV mission.

The hardware houses flight computers, cameras and avionics systems for the SLS rocket. The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank and the engine section.

When fully stacked, the forward skirt is located at the top of the 212-foot-tall core stage and connects to the upper part of the rocket. The core stage and its four RS-25 engines provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help power NASA’s next-generation lunar missions.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Michael DeMocker

Artemis IV, the first SLS Block 1B continues to make progress as we see its forward skirt progress through production.

The LOX capping forward skirt joins the engine section, SRBs & pre-existing RS-25s to what already exists to support Artemis IV. pic.twitter.com/R6mjh7XrUf

— Universe Consuming Mike (@LCS_Big_Mike) October 8, 2022