Preps Continue for America's First Crewed Lunar Landing Mission Since 1972...

NASA / Charles Beason

NASA Engineers Simulate Lunar Lighting for Artemis III Moon Landing (News Release - June 17)

Better understanding the lunar lighting environment will help NASA prepare astronauts for the harsh environment that Artemis III Moonwalkers will experience on their mission. NASA’s Artemis III mission will build on earlier test flights and add new capabilities with the Human Landing System and advanced spacesuits to send the first astronauts to explore the lunar South Pole and prepare humanity to go to Mars.

Using high-intensity lighting and low-fidelity mock-ups of a lunar lander, lunar surface and lunar rocks, NASA engineers are simulating the Moon’s environment at the Flat Floor Facility to study and experience the extreme lighting condition. The facility is located at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

“The goal is really to understand how shadows will affect lander visual inspection and assessment efforts throughout a future crewed mission,” said Emma Jaynes, test engineer at the facility. “Because the Flat Floor Facility is similar to an inverted air hockey table, NASA and our industry partners can rearrange large, heavy structures with ease – and inspect the shadows’ effects from multiple angles, helping to ensure mission success and astronaut safety for Artemis III.”

Data and analysis from testing at NASA are improving models that Artemis astronauts will use in preparation for lander and surface operations on the Moon during Artemis III. The testing is also helping cross-agency teams evaluate various tools that astronauts may use.

The 86-foot-long by 44-foot-wide facility at NASA is one of the largest, flattest and most stable air-bearing floors in the world, allowing objects to move across the floor without friction on a cushion of air.

Test teams use large, 12-kilowatt and 6-kilowatt lights to replicate the low-angle, high-contrast conditions of the lunar South Pole. Large swaths of fabric are placed on top of the epoxy floor to imitate the reflective properties of lunar regolith. All of the mock-ups are placed on air bearings, allowing engineers to easily move and situate structures on the floor.

“The Sun is at a permanent low angle at the South Pole of the Moon, meaning astronauts will experience high contrasts between the lit and shadowed regions,” Jaynes said. “The color white can become blinding in direct sunlight, while the shadows behind a rock could stretch for feet and ones behind a lander could extend for miles.”

The laboratory is large enough for people to walk around and experience this phenomenon with the naked eye, adding insight to what NASA calls 'human in-the-loop' testing.

NASA is working with SpaceX to develop the company’s Starship Human Landing System to safely send Artemis astronauts to the Moon’s surface and back to lunar orbit for Artemis III.

Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Charles Beason

The Latest Update on Humanity's First Orbital Moon Outpost...

NASA / Josh Valcarcel

NASA Welcomes Gateway Lunar Space Station’s HALO Module to U.S. (News Release - April 4)

From Italy to Arizona: Gateway’s first habitation module takes a major step on its path to launch.

A core component of Gateway, humanity’s first space station around the Moon, is now on American soil and one step closer to launch. In lunar orbit, Gateway will support NASA’s Artemis campaign to return humans to the Moon and chart a path of scientific discovery towards the first crewed missions to Mars.

Gateway’s first pressurized module and one of its two foundational elements, HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost), arrived in Arizona on April 1. Fresh off a transatlantic journey from Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, the structure will undergo final outfitting at Northrop Grumman’s integration and test facility in Gilbert before being integrated with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The pair of modules will launch together on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Gateway’s HALO will provide Artemis astronauts with space to live, work, conduct scientific research, and prepare for missions to the lunar surface. It will offer command and control, data handling, energy storage, electrical power distribution, thermal regulation, and communications and tracking via Lunar Link, a high-rate lunar communication system provided by ESA (European Space Agency). The module will include docking ports for visiting vehicles such as NASA’s Orion spacecraft, lunar landers and logistics modules.

HALO will also support both internal and external science payloads, enabling research and technology demonstrations in the harsh deep space environment.

Built with industry and international partners, Gateway will support sustained exploration of the Moon, serve as a platform for science and international collaboration, and act as a proving ground for the technologies and systems needed for future human missions to Mars.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Thales Alenia Space


Thales Alenia Space


NASA / Josh Valcarcel


NASA / Josh Valcarcel


NASA / Maxar Space Systems

Happy First Day of Winter! The Latest Update on the Second SLS Booster...

NASA / Kim Shiflett

Artemis II Core Stage Vertical Integration Begins at NASA Kennedy (News Release - December 19)

NASA has taken a big step forward in how engineers will assemble and stack future SLS (Space Launch System) rockets for Artemis Moon missions inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The VAB’s High Bay 2 has been outfitted with new tooling to facilitate the vertical integration of the SLS core stage. That progress was on full display in mid-December when teams suspended the fully-assembled core stage 225 feet in the air inside the high bay to complete vertical work before it is stacked on Mobile Launcher 1, allowing teams to continue solid rocket booster stacking simultaneously inside High Bay 3 for Artemis II.

With the move to High Bay 2, technicians with NASA and Boeing now have 360-degree tip-to-tail access to the core stage, both internally and externally. Michigan-based supplier Futuramic Tool and Engineering led the design and build of the Core Stage Vertical Integration Center tool that will hold the core stage in a vertical position.

“High Bay 2 tooling was originally scheduled to be complete for Artemis III. We had an opportunity to get it done earlier and that will put us in a good posture to complete work earlier than planned prior to moving the core stage for Artemis II into the full integrated stack over in High Bay 3,” said Chad Bryant, deputy manager of the NASA SLS Stages Office. “This gives us an opportunity to go in and learn how to rotate, lift and move the core stage into the high bay.”

This move also doubles the footprint of useable space within the VAB, giving engineers access to both High Bay 2 and High Bay 3 simultaneously, while also freeing up space at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to continue work on the individual elements for future SLS core stages.

High Bay 2 has a long history of supporting NASA exploration programs: during Apollo, High Bay 2, one of four high bays inside the VAB, was used to stack the Saturn V rocket. During the Space Shuttle Program, the high bay was used for external tank checkout and storage and as an extra storage area for the shuttle.

Under the new assembly model beginning with Artemis III, all of the major structures for the SLS core stage will continue to be fully produced and manufactured at NASA Michoud. Upon completion of manufacturing and thermal protection system application, the engine section will be shipped to Kennedy for final outfitting.

“Core stage 3 marks a significant change in the way we build core stages,” said Steve Wofford, manager of the SLS Stages Office. “The vertical capability in High Bay 2 allows us to perform parallel processing from the top to bottom of the stage. It’s a much more efficient way to build core stages. This new capability will streamline final production efforts, allowing our team to have 360-degree access to the stage, both internally and externally.”

The fully-assembled core stage for Artemis II arrived on July 23, 2024, at Kennedy, where it remained horizontal inside the VAB transfer aisle until its recent lift into the newly-outfitted high bay.

Teams at NASA Michoud are outfitting the remaining core stage elements for Artemis III and preparing to horizontally join them. The four RS-25 engines for the Artemis III mission are complete at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and will be transported to NASA Kennedy in 2025. Major core stage and Exploration Upper Stage structures are in work at NASA Michoud for Artemis IV and beyond.

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’s 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.

Source: NASA.Gov

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The Next SLS Launch Is Now Targeted for Spring of 2026...

NASA

NASA Shares Orion Heat Shield Findings, Updates Artemis Moon Missions (News Release)

Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the next American astronauts and first international astronaut on the South Pole region of the Moon. On Thursday, NASA announced the latest updates to its lunar exploration plans.

Experts discussed results of NASA’s investigation into its Orion spacecraft heat shield after it experienced an unexpected loss of charred material during re-entry of the Artemis I uncrewed test flight. For the Artemis II crewed test flight, engineers will continue to prepare Orion with the heat shield already attached to the capsule. The agency also announced that it is now targeting April 2026 for Artemis II and mid-2027 for Artemis III.

The updated mission timelines also reflect time to address the Orion environmental control and life support systems.

“The Artemis campaign is the most daring, technically challenging, collaborative, international endeavor humanity has ever set out to do,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “We have made significant progress on the Artemis campaign over the past four years, and I’m proud of the work our teams have done to prepare us for this next step forward in exploration as we look to learn more about Orion’s life support systems to sustain crew operations during Artemis II. We need to get this next test flight right. That’s how the Artemis campaign succeeds.”

The agency’s decision comes after an extensive investigation of an Artemis I heat shield issue showed that the Artemis II heat shield can keep the crew safe during the planned mission with changes to Orion’s trajectory as it enters Earth’s atmosphere and slows from nearly 25,000 mph to about 325 mph before its parachutes unfurl for safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

“Throughout our process to investigate the heat shield phenomenon and determine a forward path, we’ve stayed true to NASA’s core values; safety and data-driven analysis remained at the forefront,” said Catherine Koerner, associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The updates to our mission plans are a positive step toward ensuring we can safely accomplish our objectives at the Moon and develop the technologies and capabilities needed for crewed Mars missions.”

NASA will continue stacking its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket elements, which began in November, and prepare it for integration with Orion for Artemis II.

Throughout the fall months, NASA, along with an independent review team, established the technical cause of an issue seen after the uncrewed Artemis I test flight in which charred material on the heat shield wore away differently than expected. Extensive analysis, including from more than 100 tests at unique facilities across the country, determined that the heat shield on Artemis I did not allow for enough of the gases generated inside a material called Avcoat to escape, which caused some of the material to crack and break off. Avcoat is designed to wear away as it heats up, and is a key material in the thermal protection system that guards Orion and its crew from the nearly 5,000° Fahrenheit of temperatures that are generated when Orion returns from the Moon through Earth’s atmosphere.

Although a crew was not inside Orion during Artemis I, data shows that the temperature inside Orion remained comfortable and safe had crew been aboard.

Engineers are already assembling and integrating the Orion spacecraft for Artemis III based on lessons learned from Artemis I and implementing enhancements to how heat shields for crewed returns from lunar landing missions are manufactured to achieve uniformity and consistent permeability. The skip entry is needed for return from speeds expected for lunar landing missions.

“Victor, Christina, Jeremy and I have been following every aspect of this decision and we are thankful for the openness of NASA to weigh all options and make decisions in the best interest of human spaceflight. We are excited to fly Artemis II and continue paving the way for sustained human exploration of the Moon and Mars,” said Reid Wiseman, NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander. “We were at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida recently and put eyes on our SLS rocket boosters, the core stage and the Orion spacecraft. It is inspiring to see the scale of this effort, to meet the people working on this machine, and we can’t wait to fly it to the Moon.”

Wiseman, along with NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will fly aboard the 10-day Artemis II test flight around the Moon and back. The flight will provide valuable data about Orion systems needed to support crew on their journey to deep space and bring them safely home, including air revitalization in the cabin, manual flying capabilities, and how humans interact with other hardware and software in the spacecraft.

With Artemis, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, learn how to live and work farther away from home, and prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet. NASA’s SLS, Exploration Ground Systems and Orion spacecraft, along with the Human Landing System, next-generation spacesuits, Gateway lunar space station, and future rovers are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Glenn Benson

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the first test flight of the @NASA_Orion spacecraft. It flew on a Delta IV rocket that was powered, in part, by three RS-68 engines tested by @L3HarrisTech (formerly known as Aerojet Rocketdyne) on the B-2 side of the Thad Cochran Test Stand at… pic.twitter.com/WNMzVxhCaQ

— Stennis Space Center (@NASAStennis) December 5, 2024

The Latest Update on the First Crewed Mission to the Lunar Surface in Over 50 Years...

NASA

NASA Provides Update on Artemis III Moon Landing Regions (News Release)

As NASA prepares for the first crewed Moon landing in more than five decades, the agency has identified an updated set of nine potential landing regions near the lunar South Pole for its Artemis III mission. These areas will be further investigated through scientific and engineering study. NASA will continue to survey potential areas for missions following Artemis III, including areas beyond these nine regions.

“Artemis will return humanity to the Moon and visit unexplored areas. NASA’s selection of these regions shows our commitment to landing crew safely near the lunar South Pole, where they will help uncover new scientific discoveries and learn to live on the lunar surface,” said Lakiesha Hawkins, assistant deputy associate administrator, Moon to Mars Program Office.

NASA’s Cross Agency Site Selection Analysis team, working closely with science and industry partners, added, and excluded potential landing regions, which were assessed for their science value and mission availability.

The refined candidate Artemis III lunar landing regions are, in no priority order:

- Peak near Cabeus B
- Haworth
- Malapert Massif
- Mons Mouton Plateau
- Mons Mouton
- Nobile Rim 1
- Nobile Rim 2
- de Gerlache Rim 2
- Slater Plain

These regions contain diverse geological characteristics and offer flexibility for mission availability. The lunar South Pole has never been explored by a crewed mission and contains permanently shadowed areas that can preserve resources, including water.

“The Moon’s South Pole is a completely different environment than where we landed during the Apollo missions,” said Sarah Noble, Artemis lunar science lead at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “It offers access to some of the Moon’s oldest terrain, as well as cold, shadowed regions that may contain water and other compounds. Any of these landing regions will enable us to do amazing science and make new discoveries.”

To select these landing regions, a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers analyzed the lunar South Pole region using data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and a vast body of lunar science research. Factors in the selection process included science potential, launch window availability, terrain suitability, communication capabilities with Earth, and lighting conditions. Additionally, the team assessed the combined trajectory capabilities of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, the Orion spacecraft and Starship HLS (Human Landing System) to ensure safe and accessible landing sites.

The Artemis III geology team evaluated the landing regions for their scientific promise. Sites within each of the nine identified regions have the potential to provide key new insights into our understanding of rocky planets, lunar resources and the history of our Solar System.

“Artemis III will be the first time that astronauts will land in the south polar region of the Moon. They will be flying on a new lander into a terrain that is unique from our past Apollo experience,” said Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist. “Finding the right locations for this historic moment begins with identifying safe places for this first landing, and then trying to match that with opportunities for science from this new place on the Moon.”

NASA’s site assessment team will engage the lunar science community through conferences and workshops to gather data, build geologic maps and assess the regional geology of eventual landing sites. The team will also continue surveying the entire lunar South Pole region for science value and mission availability for future Artemis missions. This will include planning for expanded science opportunities during Artemis IV, and suitability for the LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) as part of Artemis V.

The agency will select sites within regions for Artemis III after it identifies the mission’s target launch dates, which dictate transfer trajectories, or orbital paths, and surface environment conditions.

Under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, land the first woman, first person of color and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface, and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all.

Source: NASA.Gov

Components for the Next Three SLS Flights Are Now in Florida...

NASA

New Hardware for Future Artemis Moon Missions Arrive at NASA Kennedy (News Release)

From across the Atlantic Ocean and through the Gulf of Mexico, two ships converged, delivering key spacecraft and rocket components for NASA’s Artemis campaign to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

On September 3, ESA (European Space Agency) marked a milestone in the Artemis III mission as its European-built service module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft completed a transatlantic journey from Bremen, Germany, to Port Canaveral, Florida, where technicians moved it to nearby NASA Kennedy. Transported aboard the Canopée cargo ship, the European Service Module—assembled by Airbus with components from 10 European countries and the U.S.—provides propulsion, thermal control, electrical power, water and oxygen for its crews.

“Seeing multi-mission hardware arrive at the same time demonstrates the progress we are making on our Artemis missions,” said Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator, Moon to Mars Program, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We are going to the Moon together with our industry and international partners and we are manufacturing, assembling, building and integrating elements for Artemis flights.”

NASA’s Pegasus barge, the agency’s waterway workhorse for transporting large hardware by sea, ferried multi-mission hardware for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, the Artemis II launch vehicle stage adapter, the “boat-tail” of the core stage for Artemis III, the core stage engine section for Artemis IV, along with ground support equipment needed to move and assemble the large components. The barge pulled into NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B Turn Basin on Thursday.

The spacecraft factory inside NASA Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building is set to buzz with additional activity in the coming months. With the Artemis II Orion crew and service modules stacked together and undergoing testing, and engineers outfitting the Artemis III and IV crew modules, engineers will soon connect the newly-arrived European Service Module to the crew module adapter, which houses electronic equipment for communications, power and control, and includes an umbilical connector that bridges the electrical, data and fluid systems between the crew and service modules.

The SLS rocket’s cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter connects the core stage to the upper stage and protects the rocket’s flight computers, avionics and electrical devices in the upper stage system during launch and ascent. The adapter will be taken to Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building in preparation for Artemis II rocket-stacking operations.

The boat-tail, which will be used during the assembly of the SLS core stage for Artemis III, is a fairing-like structure that protects the bottom end of the core stage and RS-25 engines. This hardware, picked up at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, will join the Artemis III core stage engine section housed in the spaceport’s Space Systems Processing Facility.

The Artemis IV SLS core stage engine section arrived from NASA Michoud and will also transfer to the center’s processing facility ahead of final assembly.

Under the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface, establishing long-term exploration for scientific discovery and preparing for human missions to Mars. The agency’s SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, and supporting ground systems, along with the human landing system, next-generation spacesuits and rovers, and Gateway, serve as NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / John Ben Smegelsky

Components for the Next Three SLS Vehicles Will Soon Be on Their Way to Cape Canaveral...

Brandon Hancock

Rocket Hardware for Future Artemis Flights Moved to Barge for Delivery to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (News Release - August 30)

NASA is making strides with the Artemis campaign as key components for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket continue to make their way to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Teams with NASA and Boeing loaded the core stage boat-tail for Artemis III and the core stage engine section for Artemis IV onto the agency’s Pegasus barge at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on August 28.

The core stage hardware joins the launch vehicle stage adapter for Artemis II, which was moved onto the barge at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on August 21. Pegasus will ferry the multi-mission rocket hardware more than 900 miles to the Space Coast of Florida. Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program will prepare the launch vehicle stage adapter for Artemis II stacking operations inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, while the core stage hardware will be moved to Kennedy’s Space Systems Processing Facility for outfitting.

Beginning with Artemis III, core stages will undergo final assembly at Kennedy.

The launch vehicle stage adapter is essential for connecting the rocket’s core stage to the upper stage. It also shields sensitive avionics and electrical components in the rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage from the intense vibrations and noise of launch.

The boat-tail and engine section are crucial for the rocket’s functionality. The boat-tail extends from the engine section, fitting snugly to protect the rocket’s engines during launch. The engine section itself houses more than 500 sensors, 18 miles of cables, and key systems for fuel management and engine control, all packed into the bottom of the towering 212-foot core stage.

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’s 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.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Steven B. Seipel


Steven B. Seipel

KSC Is Prepping for the Storage of Additional Artemis Boosters Inside the VAB...

NASA

NASA, Boeing Optimizing Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay for Future SLS Stage Production (News Release)

NASA is preparing space at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for upcoming assembly activities of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage for future Artemis missions, beginning with Artemis III.

Teams are currently outfitting the assembly building’s High Bay 2 for future vertical assembly of the rocket stage that will help power NASA’s Artemis campaign to the Moon. During Apollo, High Bay 2, one of four high bays inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, was used to stack the Saturn V rocket. During the Space Shuttle Program, the high bay was used for external tank checkout and storage and as a contingency storage area for the shuttle.

Michigan-based Futuramic is constructing the tooling that will hold the core stage in a vertical position, allowing NASA and Boeing, the SLS core stage lead contractor, to integrate the SLS rocket’s engine section and four RS-25 engines to finish assembly of the rocket stage. Vertical integration will streamline final production efforts, offering technicians 360-degree access to the stage both internally and externally.

“The High Bay 2 area at NASA Kennedy is critical for work as SLS transitions from a developmental to operational model,” said Chad Bryant, deputy manager of the SLS Stages Office. “While teams are stacking and preparing the SLS rocket for launch of one Artemis mission, the SLS core stage for another Artemis mission will be taking shape just across the aisleway.”

Under the new assembly model beginning with Artemis III, all the major structures for the SLS core stage will continue to be fully produced and manufactured at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Upon completion of manufacturing and thermal protection system application, the engine section will be shipped to NASA Kennedy for final outfitting. Later, the top sections of the core stage – the forward skirt, intertank, liquid oxygen tank and liquid hydrogen tank – will be outfitted and joined at NASA Michoud and shipped to NASA Kennedy for final assembly.

The fully-assembled core stage for Artemis II arrived at Kennedy on July 23. NASA’s Pegasus barge delivered the SLS engine section for Artemis III to Kennedy in December 2022. Teams at NASA Michoud are outfitting the remaining core stage elements and preparing to horizontally join them.

The four RS-25 engines for the Artemis III mission are complete at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and will be transported to NASA Kennedy in 2025. Major core stage and Exploration Upper Stage structures are in work at NASA Michoud for Artemis IV and beyond.

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’s 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.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Isaac Watson

One of the Final Pieces of Hardware for the Second SLS Flight Will Soon Be Transported to Florida...

Sam Lott / NASA

NASA Invites Media to Watch Artemis II Rocket Adapter Roll Out (News Release)

To mark progress towards the first crewed flight test around the Moon in more than 50 years for the benefit of humanity, NASA will welcome media on Wednesday, August 21, to see a key adapter for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket at its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

The cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter connects the rocket’s core stage to the upper stage and helps protect the upper stage’s engine that will help propel the Artemis II mission around the Moon. The event includes seeing the adapter on the move as it prepares for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Media will have the opportunity to capture images and video and speak to subject matter experts as crews move the adapter out of NASA Marshall’s Building 4708 to the agency’s Pegasus barge. The barge will ferry the adapter first to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, where it will pick up additional SLS hardware for future Artemis missions, and then travel to NASA Kennedy. In Florida, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will prepare the adapter for stacking and launch.

This event is open to U.S. media, who must RSVP by 5 p.m. CDT on Monday, August 19, to Jonathan Deal at jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov. Additional details about timing and other details for the event are forthcoming to registered media.

Manufactured by prime contractor Teledyne Brown Engineering and the Jacobs Space Exploration Group’s ESSCA contract using NASA Marshall’s self-reacting friction-stir robotic and vertical weld tools, the launch vehicle stage adapter is the largest SLS component for Artemis II that is made at the center.

Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon. The rocket is part of NASA’s deep space exploration plans, along with the Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, advanced spacesuits and rovers, Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. NASA’s SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

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The Second SLS Booster Is Bound for Florida on the 55th Anniversary of Apollo 11's Launch...

NASA / Steven Seipel

NASA Ships Moon Rocket Stage Ahead of First Crewed Artemis Flight (News Release)

NASA rolled out the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s core stage for the Artemis II test flight from its manufacturing facility in New Orleans on Tuesday for shipment to the agency’s spaceport in Florida. The rollout is key progress on the path to NASA’s first crewed mission to the Moon under the Artemis campaign.

Using highly-specialized transporters, engineers maneuvered the giant core stage from inside NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to the agency’s Pegasus barge. The barge will ferry the stage more than 900 miles to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where engineers will prepare it in the Vehicle Assembly Building for attachment to other rocket and Orion spacecraft elements.

“With Artemis, we’ve 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,” said Catherine Koerner, associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The SLS rocket is a key component of our efforts to develop a long-term presence at the Moon.”

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.

The SLS rocket’s core stage is the largest that 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’s Orion spacecraft toward the Moon.

“The 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,” said John Honeycutt, SLS program manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “We are motivated by the success of Artemis I and focused on working toward the first crewed flight under Artemis.”

After arrival at NASA Kennedy, the stage will undergo additional outfitting inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. Engineers will then join it with the segments that form the rocket’s 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.

All major structures for every SLS core stage are fully manufactured at NASA Michoud. Inside the factory, core stages and future Exploration Upper Stages for the next evolution of SLS, called the Block 1B configuration, are currently 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.

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.

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’s 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.

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NASA / Sam Lott


NASA / Sam Lott


NASA / Sam Lott


NASA / Sam Lott


NASA / Eric Bordelon & Michael DeMocker


NASA / Eric Bordelon & Michael DeMocker


NASA / Evan Deroche


NASA / Evan Deroche


NASA

The SLS Booster Launching the First Astronauts to the Moon Since 1972 Will Soon Head to Florida...

NASA / Michael DeMocker

NASA Moon Rocket Stage for Artemis II Moved, Prepped for Shipment (News Release)

NASA is preparing the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage that will help power the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis campaign for shipment. On July 6, NASA and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, moved the Artemis II rocket stage to another part of the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

The move comes as teams prepare to roll the massive rocket stage to the agency’s Pegasus barge for delivery to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in mid-July.

Prior to the move, technicians began removing external access stands, or scaffolding, surrounding the rocket stage in early June. NASA and Boeing teams used the scaffolding surrounding the core stage to assess the interior elements, including its complex avionics and propulsion systems.

The 212-foot core stage has two huge propellant tanks, avionics and flight computer systems, and four RS-25 engines, which together enable the stage to operate during launch and flight.

The stage is fully manufactured and assembled at Michoud. Building, assembling and transporting is a joint process for NASA, Boeing and lead RS-25 engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company.

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’s 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.

Source: NASA.Gov

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The Core Stage Booster for the Second SLS Flight Will Soon Head to Florida...

NASA / Eric Bordelon

NASA Invites Media to Rollout Event for Artemis II Moon Rocket Stage (News Release - June 7)

NASA will roll the fully-assembled core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will launch the first crewed Artemis mission out of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans in mid-July. The 212-foot-tall stage will be loaded on the agency’s Pegasus barge for delivery to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Media will have the opportunity to capture images and video, hear remarks from agency and industry leadership, and speak to subject matter experts with NASA and its Artemis industry partners as crews move the rocket stage to the Pegasus barge.

NASA will provide additional information on specific timing later, along with interview opportunities. This event is open to U.S. and international media.

International media must apply by June 14. U.S. media must apply by July 3.

The agency’s media credentialing policy is available online.

Interested media must contact Corinne Beckinger at corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov and Craig Betbeze at craig.c.betbeze@nasa.gov. Registered media will receive a confirmation by email.

The rocket stage with its four RS-25 engines will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission. Once at Kennedy, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program will finish outfitting the stage and prepare it for stacking and launch.

Artemis II is currently scheduled for launch in September 2025.

Building, assembling and transporting the core stage is a collaborative process for NASA, Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, and lead RS-25 engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company.

NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under the agency’s Artemis campaign. The SLS rocket is part of NASA’s 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.

The SLS rocket is the only rocket designed to send Orion, astronauts and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

Source: NASA.Gov

Training Continues for the First Moonwalk since 1972...

SpaceX

NASA Astronauts Practice Next Giant Leap for Artemis (News Release - June 4)

The physics remain the same, but the rockets, spacecraft, landers and spacesuits are new as NASA and its industry partners prepare for Artemis astronauts to walk on the Moon for the first time since 1972.

NASA astronaut Doug “Wheels” Wheelock and Axiom Space astronaut Peggy Whitson put on spacesuits, developed by Axiom Space, to interact with and evaluate full-scale developmental hardware of SpaceX’s Starship HLS (Human Landing System) that will be used for landing humans on the Moon under Artemis. The test, conducted April 30, marked the first time that astronauts in pressurized spacesuits interacted with a test version of Starship HLS hardware.

“With Artemis, NASA is going to the Moon in a whole new way, with international partners and industry partners like Axiom Space and SpaceX. These partners are contributing their expertise and providing integral parts of the deep space architecture that they develop with NASA’s insight and oversight,” said Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s Moon to Mars program manager. “Integrated tests like this one, with key programs and partners working together, are crucial to ensure systems operate smoothly and are safe and effective for astronauts before they take the next steps on the Moon.”

The day-long test, conducted at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, provided NASA and its partners with valuable feedback on the layout, physical design, mechanical assemblies and clearances inside the Starship HLS, as well as the flexibility and agility of the suits, known as the AxEMU (Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit).

To begin the test, Wheelock and Whitson put on the spacesuits in the full-scale airlock that sits on Starship’s airlock deck. Suits were then pressurized using a system immediately outside the HLS airlock that provided air, electrical power, cooling and communications to the astronauts.

Each AxEMU also included a full-scale model of the Portable Life Support System, or “backpack,” on the back of the suits. For Artemis moonwalks, each crew member will put on a spacesuit with minimal assistance, so the team was eager to evaluate how easily the suits can be put on, taken off, and stowed in the airlock.

During the test, NASA and SpaceX engineers were also able to evaluate placement of mobility aids, such as handrails, for traversing the hatch. Another set of mobility aids, straps hanging from the ceiling in the airlock, assisted the astronauts when entering and removing the AxEMU suits.

The astronauts also practiced interacting with a control panel in the airlock, ensuring that controls could be reached and activated while the astronauts were wearing gloves.

“Overall, I was pleased with the astronauts’ operation of the control panel and with their ability to perform the difficult tasks they will have to do before stepping onto the Moon,” said Logan Kennedy, lead for surface activities in NASA’s HLS Program. “The test also confirmed that the amount of space available in the airlock, on the deck, and in the elevator, are sufficient for the work our astronauts plan to do.”

The suited astronauts also walked from Starship’s airlock deck to the elevator built for testing. During Artemis missions, the elevator will take NASA astronauts and their equipment from the deck to the lunar surface for a moonwalk and then back again.

Whitson and Wheelock practiced opening a gate to enter the elevator while evaluating the dexterity of the AxEMU suit gloves, and practiced lowering the ramp that astronauts will use to take the next steps on the Moon.

The steps that the astronauts took in the spacesuits through full-scale builds of the Starship hatch, airlock, airlock deck and elevator may have been small, but they marked an important step toward preparing for a new generation of moonwalks as part of Artemis.

For the Artemis III mission, SpaceX will provide the Starship HLS that will dock with Orion in lunar orbit and take two astronauts to and from the surface of the Moon. Axiom Space is providing a new generation of spacesuits for moonwalks that are designed to fit a wider range of astronauts.

With Artemis, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet. NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, exploration ground systems and Orion spacecraft, along with the human landing system, next-generation spacesuits, Gateway lunar space station, and future rovers are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.

Source: NASA.Gov

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SpaceX

SpaceX and Blue Origin Begin Development on Unmanned Variants of Their Human Landing Systems...

SpaceX

Work Underway on Large Cargo Landers for NASA’s Artemis Moon Missions (News Release - April 19)

Under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency and its partners will send large pieces of equipment to the lunar surface to enable long-term scientific exploration of the Moon for the benefit of all. NASA’s human landing system providers, SpaceX and Blue Origin, are beginning development of lunar landers for large cargo deliveries to support these needs.

NASA has contracted SpaceX and Blue Origin to provide landing systems to take astronauts to the Moon’s surface from lunar orbit, beginning with Artemis III. The agency has asked the two companies to develop cargo versions of their human lunar landers as an option under their existing contracts.

These cargo variants are expected to land approximately 26,000 – 33,000 pounds (12 to 15 metric tons) of payload on the lunar surface and be in service no earlier than the Artemis VII mission.

“It’s essential that NASA has the capability to land not just astronauts, but large pieces of equipment, such as pressurized rovers, on the Moon for maximum return on science and exploration activities,” said Lisa Watson-Morgan, Human Landing System Program Manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “Beginning this work now allows SpaceX and Blue Origin to leverage their respective human lander designs to provide cargo variants that NASA will need in the future.”

NASA expects the cargo versions of the companies’ landers to be modified versions of the human landing systems currently being developed for Artemis III, IV and V. Modifications will include adjustments for payload interfaces and deployment mechanisms, and the cargo variants will not have human life-support systems.

This initial work allows the companies to proceed with development for their cargo landers through a preliminary design review, the step that establishes the basis for proceeding with detailed design. SpaceX is conducting its work under the NextSTEP Appendix H contract, and Blue Origin is conducting its work under NextSTEP Appendix P.

NASA officially exercised the options under those contracts in November 2023 to begin work on the large cargo landers.

With Artemis, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future human missions to the Red Planet. Artemis requires the best of international space agencies, private industry and academia to establish the infrastructure for long-term scientific research and exploration.

NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, exploration ground systems and Orion spacecraft, along with the human landing system, next-generation spacesuits and rovers, and Gateway lunar space station are the agency’s foundation for human exploration of deep space.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Blue Origin

Looking Ahead to the Next Lunar Rover for Astronauts...

Lunar Outpost

NASA Selects Companies to Advance Moon Mobility for Artemis Missions (News Release)

NASA has selected Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab to advance capabilities for a Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) that Artemis astronauts will use to travel around the lunar surface, conducting scientific research during the agency’s Artemis campaign at the Moon and preparing for human missions to Mars.

The awards leverage NASA’s expertise in developing and operating rovers to build commercial capabilities that support scientific discovery and long-term human exploration on the Moon. NASA intends to begin using the LTV for crewed operations during Artemis V.

“We look forward to the development of the Artemis Generation lunar exploration vehicle to help us advance what we learn at the Moon,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “This vehicle will greatly increase our astronauts’ ability to explore and conduct science on the lunar surface while also serving as a science platform between crewed missions.”

NASA will acquire the LTV as a service from industry. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, milestone-based Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract with firm-fixed-price task orders has a combined maximum potential value of $4.6 billion for all awards.

Each provider will begin with a feasibility task order, which will be a year-long special study to develop a system that meets NASA’s requirements through the preliminary design maturity project phase. The agency will issue a subsequent request for task order proposal to eligible provider(s) for a demonstration mission to continue developing the LTV, deliver it to the surface of the Moon, and validate its performance and safety ahead of Artemis V.

NASA anticipates making an award to only one provider for the demonstration. NASA will issue additional task orders to provide unpressurized rover capabilities for the agency’s moonwalking and scientific exploration needs through 2039.

The LTV will be able to handle the extreme conditions at the Moon’s South Pole and will feature advanced technologies for power management, autonomous driving, and state-of-the-art communications and navigation systems. Crews will use the LTV to explore, transport scientific equipment and collect samples of the lunar surface, much farther than they could on foot, enabling increased science returns.

Between Artemis missions, when crews are not on the Moon, the LTV will operate remotely to support NASA’s scientific objectives as needed. Outside those times, the provider will have the ability to use their LTV for commercial lunar surface activities unrelated to NASA missions.

“We will use the LTV to travel to locations we might not otherwise be able to reach on foot, increasing our ability to explore and make new scientific discoveries,” said Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “With the Artemis crewed missions, and during remote operations when there is not a crew on the surface, we are enabling science and discovery on the Moon year-round.”

NASA provided technical requirements, capabilities and safety standards needed for LTV development and operations, and the selected companies have agreed to meet the key agency requirements. The contract request for proposal required each provider to propose a solution to provide end-to-end services, including LTV development, delivery to the Moon and execution of operations on the lunar surface.

Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts – including the first woman, first person of color and its first international partner astronaut – to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, technology evolution, economic benefits and to build the foundation for crewed missions to Mars. Advanced rovers, along with the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, commercial human landing systems and next-generation spacesuits, and Gateway are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Intuitive Machines


Astrolab

Development Continues on Vital Hardware for the Space Launch System's Block 1B Variant...

NASA / Sam Lott

Payload Adapter Testing: A Key Step for Artemis IV Rocket’s Success (News Release - March 21)

A test version of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s payload adapter is ready for evaluation, marking a critical milestone on the journey to the hardware’s debut on NASA’s Artemis IV mission.

Comprised of two metal rings and eight composite panels, the cone-shaped payload adapter will be part of the SLS Block 1B configuration and housed inside the universal stage adapter atop the rocket’s more powerful in-space stage, called the Exploration Upper Stage. The payload adapter is an evolution from the Orion stage adapter used in the Block 1 configuration of the first three Artemis missions that sits at the topmost portion of the rocket and helps connect the rocket and spacecraft.

“Like the Orion stage adapter and the launch vehicle stage adapter used for the first three SLS flights, the payload adapter for the evolved SLS Block 1B configuration is fully manufactured and tested at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama,” said Casey Wolfe, assistant branch chief for the advanced manufacturing branch at Marshall. “Marshall’s automated fiber placement and large-scale integration facilities provide our teams the ability to build composite hardware elements for multiple Artemis missions in parallel, allowing for cost and schedule savings.”

At about 8.5 feet tall, the payload adapter’s eight composite sandwich panels, which measure about 12 feet each in length, contain a metallic honeycomb-style structure at their thickest point but taper to a single carbon fiber layer at each end. The panels are pieced together using a high-precision process called determinant assembly, in which each component is designed to fit securely in a specific place, like puzzle pieces.

After manufacturing, the payload adapter will also be structurally tested at Marshall, which manages the SLS Program. The first structural test series begins this spring.

Test teams will use the engineering development unit – an exact replica of the flight version of the hardware – to check the structure’s strength and durability by twisting, shaking and applying extreme pressure.

While every Block 1B configuration of the SLS rocket will use a payload adapter, each will be customized to fit the mission’s needs. The determinant assembly method and digital tooling ensure a more efficient and uniform manufacturing process, regardless of the mission profile, to ensure that the hardware remains on schedule.

Data from this test series will further inform design and manufacturing processes as teams begin manufacturing the qualification and flight hardware for Artemis IV.

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’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft and Gateway in orbit around the Moon as well as commercial human landing systems, next-generation spacesuits and rovers on the lunar surface.

SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA

Development Continues on Future Hardware for the Space Launch System's Block 1B Variant...

NASA / Sam Lott

Evolved Adapter for Future NASA SLS Flights Readied for Testing (News Release - March 13)

A test version of the universal stage adapter for NASA’s more powerful version of its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket arrived to Building 4619 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on February 22 from Leidos in Decatur, Alabama. The universal stage adapter will connect the rocket’s upgraded in-space propulsion stage, called the Exploration Upper Stage, to NASA’s Orion spacecraft as part of the evolved Block 1B configuration of the SLS rocket.

The universal stage adapter will also serve as a compartment capable of accommodating large payloads, such as modules or other exploration spacecraft. The SLS Block 1B variant will debut on Artemis IV and will increase SLS’s payload capability to send more than 84,000 pounds to the Moon in a single launch.

In Building 4619’s Load Test Annex High Bay at Marshall, the development test article will first undergo modal testing that will shake the hardware to validate dynamic models. Later, during ultimate load testing, force will be applied vertically and to the sides of the hardware.

Unlike the flight hardware, the development test article has flaws intentionally included in its design, which will help engineers verify that the adapter can withstand the extreme forces it will face during launch and flight. The test article joins an already-rich history of rocket hardware that has undergone high-and-low pressure, acoustic and extreme temperature testing in the multipurpose, high-bay test facility; it will be tested in the same location that once bent, compressed and torqued the core stage intertank test article for the SLS rocket’s Block 1 configuration.

Leidos, the prime contractor for the universal stage adapter, manufactured the full-scale prototype at its Aerospace Structures Complex in Decatur.

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’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft and Gateway in orbit around the Moon and commercial human landing systems, next-generational spacesuits and rovers on the lunar surface.

SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA