Engine Section of NASA Artemis IV SLS Moon Rocket | Kennedy Space Center

Engine Section of NASA Artemis IV SLS Moon Rocket | Kennedy Space Center

In these images, teams from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) can be seen transporting the engine section of the agency’s Artemis IV Space Launch System (SLS) core stage from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the spaceport’s Space Systems Processing Facility (SSPF) on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024.

NASA’s Pegasus barge delivered the core stage engine section housing the four RS-25 engines from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana to Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 5, 2024. The engine section is one the most complex and intricate parts of the rocket stage that will help power the Artemis missions to the Moon. 

Following the Artemis III mission that will land astronauts near the Moon’s South Pole, the Artemis IV crew will live and work aboard the lunar space station, Gateway. It will enable new opportunities for science and support preparation for human missions to Mars. The mission will involve multiple launches and spacecraft dockings in lunar orbit using NASA’s larger, and more powerful version of its Space Launch System rocket and new mobile launcher.

Learn more about the Artemis IV Mission:

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/artemis-4/

Image Credit: NASA/Cory Huston

Release Date: Oct. 16, 2024

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