NASA Artemis II Moon Mission Rocket Stacking: SRBs | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Artemis II Moon Mission Rocket Stacking: SRBs | Kennedy Space Center

Engineers and technicians with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program prepare to lift the left center center booster segment shown with the iconic NASA “worm” insignia for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. The booster segment is shown attached to a lifting beam ahead of integration onto the mobile launcher.

Engineers and technicians with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program transfer the right center segment with the NASA worm insignia to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. The booster segment is shown attached to a lifting beam ahead of integration onto the mobile launcher. 

Inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians with the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems use a crane to lower the left center center booster segment for the NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket onto the left aft center segment atop the mobile launcher on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. The NASA “worm” insignia can be seen on both the center center booster segments.

Engineers and technicians with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Program work on stacking the two Artemis II Moon solid rocket boosters (SRBs), featuring the NASA worm insignia, at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) within NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. These boosters will help support the remaining rocket components and the Orion spacecraft during final assembly of the Artemis II Moon rocket. They will provide more than 75 percent of the total Space Launch System (SLS) thrust during liftoff from NASA Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39B.

The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under the Artemis campaign. It will launch no earlier than April 2026. NASA's Orion spacecraft will carry NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman, as well as Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back for the Artemis II test flight.

For more information about SLS, visit: 

https://www.nasa.gov/sls

Check the NASA Artemis II Mission page for updates:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Image Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
Image Dates: Jan. 14-27, 2025

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