NASA’s powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is poised to blast four astronauts to space next year on the epic Artemis II mission, which will bring them within 80 miles of the lunar surface. In preparation for this momentous journey, the SLS’s 213-foot-tall (65 meters) core stage has embarked on a more leisurely voyage – on a barge heading for the Kennedy Space Center. Boeing Space, a key player in the construction of NASA’s most powerful rocket to date, shared footage of the rocket booster’s departure from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, Louisiana, earlier this week. The core stage was carefully transported 1.3 miles to the Pegasus barge, which will now embark on a 900-mile journey to the Kennedy Space Center.
Once at the Kennedy Space Center, the SLS will undergo final outfitting and testing before the highly anticipated Artemis II moon mission, currently scheduled for September 2025. The core stage being transported by Pegasus includes the cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks that will fuel its four RS-25 rocket engines. It also houses the vehicle’s avionics and flight computer.
The Artemis II mission signifies the return of humankind to lunar orbit for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The SLS rocket, generating a powerful 8.8 million pounds of thrust at launch, has only flown once before, in 2022. During that flight, it successfully carried the Orion spacecraft to space, testing both the rocket and the spacecraft ahead of next year’s crewed flight.
A successful Artemis II flight will pave the way for Artemis III, which aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface. The current plan involves using the SLS rocket to send the Orion to a lunar orbit. Orion would then dock with SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft, which would transfer the two astronauts to the lunar surface. However, with SpaceX still testing its Starship vehicle, the date for Artemis III could be subject to change. Nevertheless, NASA is undoubtedly hoping to land the first Artemis astronauts on the moon before the end of the decade.
