NASA Stennis representatives inspire the Artemis Generation at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans Feb. 7-8 with activities and displays highlighting space exploration, including NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

NASA reached out to inspire members of the Artemis Generation on Jan. 10-12, joining one of the largest comic con producers in the world to host an outreach booth at the 2025 FAN EXPO in New Orleans. Thousands of fans celebrating the best in pop culture such as movies, comics, and video gaming learned about NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and its role to power space dreams.

NASA reached out to inspire members of the Artemis Generation on Jan. 10-12, joining one of the largest comic con producers in the world to host an outreach booth at the 2025 FAN EXPO in New Orleans. Thousands of fans celebrating the best in pop culture such as movies, comics, and video gaming learned about NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and its role to power space dreams.

NASA Stennis representatives inspire the Artemis Generation at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans Feb. 7-8 with activities and displays highlighting space exploration, including NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon

NASA reached out to inspire members of the Artemis Generation on Jan. 10-12, joining one of the largest comic con producers in the world to host an outreach booth at the 2025 FAN EXPO in New Orleans. Thousands of fans celebrating the best in pop culture such as movies, comics, and video gaming learned about NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and its role to power space dreams.

NASA Stennis representatives inspire the Artemis Generation at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans Feb. 7-8 with activities and displays highlighting space exploration, including NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

NASA Stennis representatives inspire the Artemis Generation at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans Feb. 7-8 with activities and displays highlighting space exploration, including NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

NASA Stennis representatives inspire the Artemis Generation at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans Feb. 7-8 with activities and displays highlighting space exploration, including NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

NASA reached out to inspire members of the Artemis Generation on Jan. 10-12, joining one of the largest comic con producers in the world to host an outreach booth at the 2025 FAN EXPO in New Orleans. Thousands of fans celebrating the best in pop culture such as movies, comics, and video gaming learned about NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and its role to power space dreams.

NASA Stennis representatives inspire the Artemis Generation at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans Feb. 7-8 with activities and displays highlighting space exploration, including NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

NASA reached out to inspire members of the Artemis Generation on Jan. 10-12, joining one of the largest comic con producers in the world to host an outreach booth at the 2025 FAN EXPO in New Orleans. Thousands of fans celebrating the best in pop culture such as movies, comics, and video gaming learned about NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and its role to power space dreams.

NASA Stennis representatives inspire the Artemis Generation at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans Feb. 7-8 with activities and displays highlighting space exploration, including NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

NASA Stennis representatives inspire the Artemis Generation at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans Feb. 7-8 with activities and displays highlighting space exploration, including NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

NASA reached out to inspire members of the Artemis Generation on Jan. 10-12, joining one of the largest comic con producers in the world to host an outreach booth at the 2025 FAN EXPO in New Orleans. Thousands of fans celebrating the best in pop culture such as movies, comics, and video gaming learned about NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and its role to power space dreams.

NASA reached out to inspire members of the Artemis Generation on Jan. 10-12, joining one of the largest comic con producers in the world to host an outreach booth at the 2025 FAN EXPO in New Orleans. Thousands of fans celebrating the best in pop culture such as movies, comics, and video gaming learned about NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and its role to power space dreams.

NASA Stennis representatives inspire the Artemis Generation at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans Feb. 7-8 with activities and displays highlighting space exploration, including NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

NASA reached out to inspire members of the Artemis Generation on Jan. 10-12, joining one of the largest comic con producers in the world to host an outreach booth at the 2025 FAN EXPO in New Orleans. Thousands of fans celebrating the best in pop culture such as movies, comics, and video gaming learned about NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and its role to power space dreams.

Fans at the 51st Annual Bayou Classic in New Orleans snap a photo with cardboard images of NASA’s Artemis II crew on Nov. 30.

NASA Stennis representatives inspire the Artemis Generation at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans Feb. 7-8 with activities and displays highlighting space exploration, including NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

Teams move a liquid hydrogen tank for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket out of a priming cell and into an adjacent cell on May 20 at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Inside the cell, the tank, which will be used on the core stage of NASA’s Artemis III mission, will receive its thermal protection system. The thermal protection system, or spray-on foam insulation, provides protection to the core stage during launch. It is flexible enough to move with the rocket yet can withstand the aerodynamic pressures as the SLS accelerates from 0 to 17,500 mph and soars to more than 100 miles above the Earth. This third-generation insulation is more environmentally friendly and keeps the cryogenic propellant, which powers the rocket’s four RS-25 engines, extremely cold (the liquid hydrogen must remain at minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit/253 degrees Celsius) to remain in its liquid state. When applied the thermal protection system is a light-yellow color, which “tans” once exposed to the Sun’s ultraviolet rays, giving the SLS core stage its signature orange color.

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move a liquid hydrogen tank for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket into the factory’s vertical assembly building on Sep. 26, 2025. The tank, which is designated for the agency’s Artemis III mission, is lifted and loaded into a production cell where it will be mated with the LH2 Transport Adapter Assembly for future transportation to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The engine section flight hardware structure was completed in 2022 and was shipped to Kennedy where teams continue to integrate vital systems. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move a liquid hydrogen tank for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket inside the factory’s vertical assembly building on Sep. 28, 2025. The tank, which is designated for the agency’s Artemis III mission, is being lifted and loaded into a production cell where it will be mated with the LH2 Transport Adapter Assembly for future transportation to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The engine section flight hardware structure was completed in 2022 and was shipped to Kennedy where teams continue to integrate vital systems. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

NASA’s Michoud Assembly move crews lift the liquid hydrogen tank for its Artemis III mission out of a production cell on Oct. 6, 2025. Teams with SLS (Space Launch System) prime contractor, Boeing, recently mated the tank to the LH2 Transport Adapter Assembly, which will allow the stage to be securely transported by barge to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center once it’s mated to the forward end of the core stage. The LH2 Transport Adapter Assembly serves as a temporary place holder for the engine section, which was previously shipped from Michoud to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for further integration. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the aft dome for the liquid hydrogen tank for the fourth core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System), into the in-feeder of the facility’s vertical assembly center. Once loaded into the production tool, teams with SLS prime contractor, Boeing, will circumferentially friction-stir weld the dome to the previously-welded forward dome and five barrels that make up the liquid hydrogen tank. The SLS core stage liquid hydrogen tank holds 537,000 gallons of super-cooled propellant and is one of five unique elements that make up the SLS core stage. Together with the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, and engine section, the liquid hydrogen tank will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move a liquid oxygen tank for its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket to a cleaning cell inside the facility’s vertical assembly building on Oct. 11. The tank, which will be used on the core stage of the agency’s Artemis III mission, will undergo an internal cleaning before moving on to its next phase of production. Inside the cleaning cell, a solution is sprayed into the tank to remove particulates which may collect during the manufacturing process. Once a tank is cleaned, teams use mobile clean rooms for internal access to the tank to prevent external contaminates from entering the hardware. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move the liquid oxygen tank into final assembly production area on Aug. 27, 2025. There, it will undergo integration of the forward dome by SLS (Space Launch System) prime contractor, Boeing. Eventually, the liquid oxygen tank will be moved back to the high bay where it will be mated with the intertank and forward skirt to complete the forward join of the Artemis III core stage. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility move the engine section of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis V on December 18, 2024, at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, LA. Throughout 2024, new tooling was erected in bldg. 115 for the upcoming iterations of the Space Launch System (SLS), Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), and the test articles required to develop and assemble each efficiently and effectively. This barrel is the sixty-fourth produced for the Space Launch System program since its inception and is the first barrel weld completed for the core stage of the Artemis V mission. This engine section will be used on the evolved Block 1B configuration of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. It is one of the first components that will make up a portion of the core stage that will power NASA’s Artemis V mission. According to a Boeing engineer, as of this barrel, the VWC has now completed 515 production welds, with friction-stir welding a cumulative distance of 111,568 inches. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

These photos and videos show how technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans installed the third and fourth RS-25 engines onto the core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. Technicians added the first engine to the SLS core stage Sept. 11. The second engine was installed onto the stage Sept. 15 with the third and fourth engines following Sept. 19 and Sept. 20. Engineers consider the engines to be “soft” mated to the rocket stage. Technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will now focus efforts on the complex tax of fully securing the engines to the stage and integrating the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

Technicians from Orion Prime Contractor Lockheed Martin weld the forward bulkhead of the pressure vessel to the tunnel hardware on the Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. This pressure vessel weld is the next step following the completion of the crew module cone panel welds and creates the top of the spacecraft. Work will then begin to join the barrel with the aft bulkhead to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before.

NASA’s Michoud Assembly move crews lift the liquid hydrogen tank for its Artemis III mission out of a production cell and move it into the final assembly manufacturing area on Oct. 10, 2025. Teams with SLS (Space Launch System) prime contractor, Boeing, recently mated the tank to the LH2 Transport Adapter Assembly, which will allow the stage to be securely transported by barge to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center once it’s mated to the forward end of the core stage. The LH2 Transport Adapter Assembly serves as a temporary place holder for the engine section, which was previously shipped from Michoud to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for further integration. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Technicians from Orion Prime Contractor Lockheed Martin weld the forward bulkhead of the pressure vessel to the tunnel hardware on the Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. This pressure vessel weld is the next step following the completion of the crew module cone panel welds and creates the top of the spacecraft. Work will then begin to join the barrel with the aft bulkhead to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before.

Technicians from Orion Prime Contractor Lockheed Martin weld the forward bulkhead of the pressure vessel to the tunnel hardware on the Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. This pressure vessel weld is the next step following the completion of the crew module cone panel welds and creates the top of the spacecraft. Work will then begin to join the barrel with the aft bulkhead to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before.

This image shows technicians and engineers move and connect the liquid oxygen tank (LOX) to the intertank as they continue the process of the forward join on the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. The forward join connects the forward skirt, the liquid oxygen tank (LOX) and the intertank structures to form the top part of the SLS rocket’s core stage. Now, NASA and Boeing, the SLS prime contractor, will continue to integrate various systems inside the forward part of the core stage and prepare for structural joining of the liquid hydrogen tank and engine section to form the bottom of the stage. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Technicians from Orion Prime Contractor Lockheed Martin weld the forward bulkhead of the pressure vessel to the tunnel hardware on the Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. This pressure vessel weld is the next step following the completion of the crew module cone panel welds and creates the top of the spacecraft. Work will then begin to join the barrel with the aft bulkhead to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before.

Technicians from Orion Prime Contractor Lockheed Martin weld the forward bulkhead of the pressure vessel to the tunnel hardware on the Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. This pressure vessel weld is the next step following the completion of the crew module cone panel welds and creates the top of the spacecraft. Work will then begin to join the barrel with the aft bulkhead to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before.

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move a liquid oxygen tank for its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket to a cleaning cell inside the facility’s vertical assembly building on Oct. 11. The tank, which will be used on the core stage of the agency’s Artemis III mission, will undergo an internal cleaning before moving on to its next phase of production. Inside the cleaning cell, a solution is sprayed into the tank to remove particulates which may collect during the manufacturing process. Once a tank is cleaned, teams use mobile clean rooms for internal access to the tank to prevent external contaminates from entering the hardware. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the aft dome for the liquid hydrogen tank for the fourth core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System), into the in-feeder of the facility’s vertical assembly center. Once loaded into the production tool, teams with SLS prime contractor, Boeing, will circumferentially friction-stir weld the dome to the previously-welded forward dome and five barrels that make up the liquid hydrogen tank. The SLS core stage liquid hydrogen tank holds 537,000 gallons of super-cooled propellant and is one of five unique elements that make up the SLS core stage. Together with the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, and engine section, the liquid hydrogen tank will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Technicians from Orion Prime Contractor Lockheed Martin weld the forward bulkhead of the pressure vessel to the tunnel hardware on the Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. This pressure vessel weld is the next step following the completion of the crew module cone panel welds and creates the top of the spacecraft. Work will then begin to join the barrel with the aft bulkhead to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before.

NASA’s Michoud Assembly move crews lift the liquid hydrogen tank for its Artemis III mission out of a production cell on Oct. 6, 2025. Teams with SLS (Space Launch System) prime contractor, Boeing, recently mated the tank to the LH2 Transport Adapter Assembly, which will allow the stage to be securely transported by barge to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center once it’s mated to the forward end of the core stage. The LH2 Transport Adapter Assembly serves as a temporary place holder for the engine section, which was previously shipped from Michoud to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for further integration. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility move the intertank of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis III to Cell G on October 26, 2022 to await application of the thermal protection system. Thermal protection systems protect space vehicles from aerodynamic heating during entry to planet atmosphere and re-entry to earth atmosphere. The intertank lays between the liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank. Together with the engine section and the forward skirt, they comprise the SLS core stage. The liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank hold 733,000 gallons of propellant to power the stage’s four RS-25 engines needed for liftoff and Artemis missions to the Moon and future missions to Mars.

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move the liquid oxygen tank into final assembly production area on Aug. 27, 2025. There, it will undergo integration of the forward dome by SLS (Space Launch System) prime contractor,Boeing. Eventually, the liquid oxygen tank will be moved back to the high bay where it will be mated with the intertank and forward skirt to complete the forward join of the Artemis III core stage. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans install wash probes into a liquid oxygen tank inside the factory’s cleaning cell on Oct. 25. The tank, which will be used on the core stage of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for its Artemis III mission, will undergo an internal cleaning before moving on to its next phase of production. Inside the cleaning cell, a solution is sprayed into the tank to remove particulates which may collect during the manufacturing process. Once a tank is cleaned, teams use mobile clean rooms for internal access to the tank to prevent external contaminates from entering the hardware. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the 130-foot-tall liquid hydrogen tank off the vertical assembly center on Nov. 14. This is the fourth liquid hydrogen tank manufactured at the facility for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The completed tank will be loaded into a production cell for technicians to remove the lift tool, perform dimensional scans, and then install brackets, which will allow the move crew to break the tank over from a vertical to a horizontal configuration. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans use a heavy-lift mobile transport apparatus to move a 51-foot-tall liquid oxygen tank out of the vertical assembly building and into the main rocket factory on June 11. The liquidoxygen tank will form part of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis IV mission to the Moon. Next, technicians with Boeing, SLS core stage prime contractor, and NASA will perform dimensional inspections and install internal baffles on the propellant tank before the next phase of production. The propellant tank will hold more than 196,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid oxygen at launch and is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall SLS rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines at its base, produces more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, ronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop the mobile launcher at Launch 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Artemis I mission is the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, and supporting ground systems. The mission is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for no earlier than Sept. 3 at 2:17 p.m. ET. With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before.

Teams move a liquid oxygen tank from the main factory at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to a nearby production cell on April 25, 2025. Designated for the core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis III mission, the tank will now undergo application of its thermal protection system through an automated process. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans use a heavy-lift mobile transport apparatus to move a 51-foot-tall liquid oxygen tank out of the vertical assembly building and into the main rocket factory on June 11. The liquidoxygen tank will form part of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis IV mission to the Moon. Next, technicians with Boeing, SLS core stage prime contractor, and NASA will perform dimensional inspections and install internal baffles on the propellant tank before the next phase of production. The propellant tank will hold more than 196,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid oxygen at launch and is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall SLS rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines at its base, produces more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, ronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

Technicians from Orion Prime Contractor Lockheed Martin weld the forward bulkhead of the pressure vessel to the tunnel hardware on the Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. This pressure vessel weld is the next step following the completion of the crew module cone panel welds and creates the top of the spacecraft. Work will then begin to join the barrel with the aft bulkhead to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before.

Technicians from Orion Prime Contractor Lockheed Martin weld the forward bulkhead of the pressure vessel to the tunnel hardware on the Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. This pressure vessel weld is the next step following the completion of the crew module cone panel welds and creates the top of the spacecraft. Work will then begin to join the barrel with the aft bulkhead to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before.

This image highlights the liquid hydrogen tank that will be used on the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program. The tank is being built at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. 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. The liquid hydrogen tank holds 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit and sits between the core stage’s intertank and engine section. The liquid hydrogen hardware, along with the liquid oxygen tank, will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the cores stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to launch NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the human landing system, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket can send astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the 130-foot-tall liquid hydrogen tank off the vertical assembly center on Nov. 14. This is the fourth liquid hydrogen tank manufactured at the facility for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The completed tank will be loaded into a production cell for technicians to remove the lift tool, perform dimensional scans, and then install brackets, which will allow the move crew to break the tank over from a vertical to a horizontal configuration. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

New Orleans, LA - Parts of the Saturn V first stage await assembly at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in October of 1967. In the far end of the image, S-1C stages are nearing completion. Image dated 10-5-1967.

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans install wash probes into a liquid oxygen tank inside the factory’s cleaning cell on Oct. 25. The tank, which will be used on the core stage of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for its Artemis III mission, will undergo an internal cleaning before moving on to its next phase of production. Inside the cleaning cell, a solution is sprayed into the tank to remove particulates which may collect during the manufacturing process. Once a tank is cleaned, teams use mobile clean rooms for internal access to the tank to prevent external contaminates from entering the hardware. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans use a heavy-lift mobile transport apparatus to move a 51-foot-tall liquid oxygen tank out of the vertical assembly building and into the main rocket factory on June 11. The liquidoxygen tank will form part of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis IV mission to the Moon. Next, technicians with Boeing, SLS core stage prime contractor, and NASA will perform dimensional inspections and install internal baffles on the propellant tank before the next phase of production. The propellant tank will hold more than 196,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid oxygen at launch and is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall SLS rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines at its base, produces more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, ronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

This image shows technicians and engineers move and connect the liquid oxygen tank (LOX) to the intertank as they continue the process of the forward join on the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. The forward join connects the forward skirt, the liquid oxygen tank (LOX) and the intertank structures to form the top part of the SLS rocket’s core stage. Now, NASA and Boeing, the SLS prime contractor, will continue to integrate various systems inside the forward part of the core stage and prepare for structural joining of the liquid hydrogen tank and engine section to form the bottom of the stage. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

NASA’s Michoud Assembly move crews lift the liquid hydrogen tank for its Artemis III mission out of a production cell and move it into the final assembly manufacturing area on Oct. 10, 2025. Teams with SLS (Space Launch System) prime contractor, Boeing, recently mated the tank to the LH2 Transport Adapter Assembly, which will allow the stage to be securely transported by barge to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center once it’s mated to the forward end of the core stage. The LH2 Transport Adapter Assembly serves as a temporary place holder for the engine section, which was previously shipped from Michoud to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for further integration. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Technicians from Orion Prime Contractor Lockheed Martin weld the forward bulkhead of the pressure vessel to the tunnel hardware on the Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. This pressure vessel weld is the next step following the completion of the crew module cone panel welds and creates the top of the spacecraft. Work will then begin to join the barrel with the aft bulkhead to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before.

Crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans load alluminum alloy panels into the Vertical Weld Center June 1. The Vertical Weld Center is a friction-stir weld tool for the large structures of the core stage for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. Teams load the panels into the VWC using an overhead crane system, then multiple panels are welded together to create entire barrels. The panels in these images are some of the five barrels that will form the SLS liquid hydrogen propellant tank for the SLS rocket that will power NASA’s Artemis IV mission, which is also the first flight of SLS in its more powerful Block 1B configuration. 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. The liquid hydrogen propellant tank holds 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 432 degrees Fahrenheit and sits between the core stage’s intertank and engine section. The liquid hydrogen hardware, along with the liquid oxygen tank, provides propellant to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the core stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch the Artemis IV mission to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

Technicians from Orion Prime Contractor Lockheed Martin weld the forward bulkhead of the pressure vessel to the tunnel hardware on the Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. This pressure vessel weld is the next step following the completion of the crew module cone panel welds and creates the top of the spacecraft. Work will then begin to join the barrel with the aft bulkhead to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before.

This image shows teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lifting a forward skirt out of its vertical assembly center on Jan. 31, 2025. The forward skirt, which will be used on the core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for its Artemis IV mission, houses flight computers, cameras, and avionics. While inside the vertical assembly center, technicians attached the forward skirt’s forward and aft rings, which serve as attachments points to the launch vehicle stage adapter and the liquid oxygen tank, respectively. The forward skirt is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

These photos and videos show how technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans installed the third and fourth RS-25 engines onto the core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. Technicians added the first engine to the SLS core stage Sept. 11. The second engine was installed onto the stage Sept. 15 with the third and fourth engines following Sept. 19 and Sept. 20. Engineers consider the engines to be “soft” mated to the rocket stage. Technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will now focus efforts on the complex tax of fully securing the engines to the stage and integrating the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the intertank of the SLS (Space Launch System)’s core stage for NASA’s Artemis III mission to move it to another location in the 43-acre factory for further inspection and production. The intertank is the backbone of the rocket’s core stage and is located between the mega rocket’s liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank. In addition to joining the rocket’s two massive propellant tanks, the intertank houses avionics and electronics and serves as an attachment point for the rocket’s two solid rocket boosters positioned on either side of the core stage. The liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank hold 733,000 gallons of super-cold propellant to power the stage’s four RS-25 engines needed for liftoff. Together, the rocket’s four RS-25 engines and two solid rocket boosters provide more than 8.8 million pounds to launch NASA’s and Artemis missions to the Moon. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

These photos and videos show how technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans installed the third and fourth RS-25 engines onto the core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. Technicians added the first engine to the SLS core stage Sept. 11. The second engine was installed onto the stage Sept. 15 with the third and fourth engines following Sept. 19 and Sept. 20. Engineers consider the engines to be “soft” mated to the rocket stage. Technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will now focus efforts on the complex tax of fully securing the engines to the stage and integrating the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

Teams move a liquid hydrogen tank for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket out of a priming cell and into an adjacent cell on May 20 at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Inside the cell, the tank, which will be used on the core stage of NASA’s Artemis III mission, will receive its thermal protection system. The thermal protection system, or spray-on foam insulation, provides protection to the core stage during launch. It is flexible enough to move with the rocket yet can withstand the aerodynamic pressures as the SLS accelerates from 0 to 17,500 mph and soars to more than 100 miles above the Earth. This third-generation insulation is more environmentally friendly and keeps the cryogenic propellant, which powers the rocket’s four RS-25 engines, extremely cold (the liquid hydrogen must remain at minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit/253 degrees Celsius) to remain in its liquid state. When applied the thermal protection system is a light-yellow color, which “tans” once exposed to the Sun’s ultraviolet rays, giving the SLS core stage its signature orange color.

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move the 21.8-foot-tall intertank for the core stage of the agency’s Artemis III mission into the vertical assembly building on Oct. 21. Inside the production cell, NASA’s prime contractor for the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage, Boeing, will mate the intertank to the liquid oxygen tank and the forward skirt in a process called a “forward join.” The intertank houses avionics and electronics, serves as an attachment point for the solid rocket boosters, and is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Space Launch System Corestage-1 in production at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

This image shows teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lifting a forward skirt out of its vertical assembly center on Jan. 31, 2025. The forward skirt, which will be used on the core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for its Artemis IV mission, houses flight computers, cameras, and avionics. While inside the vertical assembly center, technicians attached the forward skirt’s forward and aft rings, which serve as attachments points to the launch vehicle stage adapter and the liquid oxygen tank, respectively. The forward skirt is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Technicians are manufacturing and testing the first in a series of initial weld confidence articles for the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) for future flights of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The Exploration Upper Stage will be used on the second configuration of the SLS rocket, known as Block 1B, and will provide in-space propulsion to send astronauts in NASA’s Orion spacecraft and heavy cargo on a precise trajectory to the Moon. The Exploration Upper Stage weld confidence panels are first produced in the Vertical Weld Center at Michoud, then small sections of the panels are removed for mechanical testing and analysis in another area of the factory. Teams use weld confidence articles to verify welding procedures, interfaces between the tooling and hardware, and the structural integrity of the welds. Testing of the EUS weld confidence articles will help engineers and technicians validate welding parameters for manufacturing EUS hardware. The first three SLS flights of NASA’s Artemis program will use an interim cryogenic propulsion stage with one RL10 engine to send Orion to the Moon. The SLS Exploration Upper Stage for flights beyond Artemis III has larger propellant tanks and four RL10 engines. The evolution of the rocket to SLS Block 1B configuration with EUS enables SLS to launch 40% more cargo to the Moon along with the crew. Manufacturing the Exploration Upper Stage is a collaborative effort between NASA and Boeing, the lead contractor for EUS and the SLS core stage. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission. The SLS rocket, NASA’s Orion spacecraft, Gateway, and human landing system are part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. Under the Artemis program, NASA is working to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon to pave the way for sustainable exploration at the Moon and future missions to Mars. (NASA)

This image highlights the liquid oxygen tank, which will be used on the core stage of NASA’ Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. 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. The forward skirt houses flight computers, cameras, and avionics systems. The liquid oxygen tank holds 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen cooled to minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit. The LOX hardware sits between the core stage’s forward skirt and the intertank. Along with the liquid hydrogen tank, it will provide fuel to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the core stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to launch NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket can send astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move the liquid oxygen tank for the core stage of the agency’s Artemis III mission into the facility’s vertical assembly building on Nov.3. Eventually, teams with SLS (Space Launch System) prime contractor, Boeing, will lift the tank into the production cell currently housing the intertank and mate the flight hardware together before capping them off with the forward skirt to complete the core stage forward join. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans use a heavy-lift mobile transport apparatus to move a 51-foot-tall liquid oxygen tank out of the vertical assembly building and into the main rocket factory on June 11. The liquidoxygen tank will form part of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis IV mission to the Moon. Next, technicians with Boeing, SLS core stage prime contractor, and NASA will perform dimensional inspections and install internal baffles on the propellant tank before the next phase of production. The propellant tank will hold more than 196,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid oxygen at launch and is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall SLS rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines at its base, produces more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, ronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility move the engine section of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis V on December 18, 2024, at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, LA. Throughout 2024, new tooling was erected in bldg. 115 for the upcoming iterations of the Space Launch System (SLS), Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), and the test articles required to develop and assemble each efficiently and effectively. This barrel is the sixty-fourth produced for the Space Launch System program since its inception and is the first barrel weld completed for the core stage of the Artemis V mission. This engine section will be used on the evolved Block 1B configuration of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. It is one of the first components that will make up a portion of the core stage that will power NASA’s Artemis V mission. According to a Boeing engineer, as of this barrel, the VWC has now completed 515 production welds, with friction-stir welding a cumulative distance of 111,568 inches. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Space Launch System Corestage-1 (Artemis-1) in production at the Michoud Assembly Faclility in New Orleans.

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the aft dome for the liquid hydrogen tank for the fourth core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System), into the in-feeder of the facility’s vertical assembly center. Once loaded into the production tool, teams with SLS prime contractor, Boeing, will circumferentially friction-stir weld the dome to the previously-welded forward dome and five barrels that make up the liquid hydrogen tank. The SLS core stage liquid hydrogen tank holds 537,000 gallons of super-cooled propellant and is one of five unique elements that make up the SLS core stage. Together with the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, and engine section, the liquid hydrogen tank will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the 130-foot-tall liquid hydrogen tank off the vertical assembly center on Nov. 14. This is the fourth liquid hydrogen tank manufactured at the facility for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The completed tank will be loaded into a production cell for technicians to remove the lift tool, perform dimensional scans, and then install brackets, which will allow the move crew to break the tank over from a vertical to a horizontal configuration. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams move a liquid oxygen tank from the main factory at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to a nearby production cell on April 25, 2025. Designated for the core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis III mission, the tank will now undergo application of its thermal protection system through an automated process. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans use a heavy-lift mobile transport apparatus to move a 51-foot-tall liquid oxygen tank out of the vertical assembly building and into the main rocket factory on June 11. The liquidoxygen tank will form part of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis IV mission to the Moon. Next, technicians with Boeing, SLS core stage prime contractor, and NASA will perform dimensional inspections and install internal baffles on the propellant tank before the next phase of production. The propellant tank will hold more than 196,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid oxygen at launch and is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall SLS rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines at its base, produces more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, ronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

This image highlights the liquid oxygen tank, which will be used on the core stage of NASA’ Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. 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. The forward skirt houses flight computers, cameras, and avionics systems. The liquid oxygen tank holds 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen cooled to minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit. The LOX hardware sits between the core stage’s forward skirt and the intertank. Along with the liquid hydrogen tank, it will provide fuel to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the core stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to launch NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket can send astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

These photos and videos show how technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans installed the second of four RS-25 engines onto the core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. Crews added the second engine, with the serial number E2047 in position one, to the stage Sept. 15. The serial number for the engine installed Sept. 11 in position two on the core stage is E2059. Engineers consider the engines to be “soft” mated to the rocket stage. Following soft mate of all four engines, technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will fully secure the engines to the stage and integrate the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. All four RS-25 engines are located at the base of the core stage within the engine section. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

Technicians are manufacturing and testing the first in a series of initial weld confidence articles for the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) for future flights of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The Exploration Upper Stage will be used on the second configuration of the SLS rocket, known as Block 1B, and will provide in-space propulsion to send astronauts in NASA’s Orion spacecraft and heavy cargo on a precise trajectory to the Moon. The Exploration Upper Stage weld confidence panels are first produced in the Vertical Weld Center at Michoud, then small sections of the panels are removed for mechanical testing and analysis in another area of the factory. Teams use weld confidence articles to verify welding procedures, interfaces between the tooling and hardware, and the structural integrity of the welds. Testing of the EUS weld confidence articles will help engineers and technicians validate welding parameters for manufacturing EUS hardware. The first three SLS flights of NASA’s Artemis program will use an interim cryogenic propulsion stage with one RL10 engine to send Orion to the Moon. The SLS Exploration Upper Stage for flights beyond Artemis III has larger propellant tanks and four RL10 engines. The evolution of the rocket to SLS Block 1B configuration with EUS enables SLS to launch 40% more cargo to the Moon along with the crew. Manufacturing the Exploration Upper Stage is a collaborative effort between NASA and Boeing, the lead contractor for EUS and the SLS core stage. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission. The SLS rocket, NASA’s Orion spacecraft, Gateway, and human landing system are part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. Under the Artemis program, NASA is working to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon to pave the way for sustainable exploration at the Moon and future missions to Mars. (NASA)

NASA’s Michoud Assembly move crews lift the liquid hydrogen tank for its Artemis III mission out of a production cell on Oct. 6, 2025. Teams with SLS (Space Launch System) prime contractor, Boeing, recently mated the tank to the LH2 Transport Adapter Assembly, which will allow the stage to be securely transported by barge to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center once it’s mated to the forward end of the core stage. The LH2 Transport Adapter Assembly serves as a temporary place holder for the engine section, which was previously shipped from Michoud to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for further integration. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the intertank of the SLS (Space Launch System)’s core stage for NASA’s Artemis III mission to move it to another location in the 43-acre factory for further inspection and production. The intertank is the backbone of the rocket’s core stage and is located between the mega rocket’s liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank. In addition to joining the rocket’s two massive propellant tanks, the intertank houses avionics and electronics and serves as an attachment point for the rocket’s two solid rocket boosters positioned on either side of the core stage. The liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank hold 733,000 gallons of super-cold propellant to power the stage’s four RS-25 engines needed for liftoff. Together, the rocket’s four RS-25 engines and two solid rocket boosters provide more than 8.8 million pounds to launch NASA’s and Artemis missions to the Moon. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

This image shows teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lifting a forward skirt out of its vertical assembly center on Jan. 31, 2025. The forward skirt, which will be used on the core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for its Artemis IV mission, houses flight computers, cameras, and avionics. While inside the vertical assembly center, technicians attached the forward skirt’s forward and aft rings, which serve as attachments points to the launch vehicle stage adapter and the liquid oxygen tank, respectively. The forward skirt is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Space Launch System Corestage-1 (Artemis-1) in production at the Michoud Assembly Faclility in New Orleans.

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans use a heavy-lift mobile transport apparatus to move a 51-foot-tall liquid oxygen tank out of the vertical assembly building and into the main rocket factory on June 11. The liquidoxygen tank will form part of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis IV mission to the Moon. Next, technicians with Boeing, SLS core stage prime contractor, and NASA will perform dimensional inspections and install internal baffles on the propellant tank before the next phase of production. The propellant tank will hold more than 196,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid oxygen at launch and is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall SLS rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines at its base, produces more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, ronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

This image highlights the liquid oxygen tank, which will be used on the core stage of NASA’ Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. 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. The forward skirt houses flight computers, cameras, and avionics systems. The liquid oxygen tank holds 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen cooled to minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit. The LOX hardware sits between the core stage’s forward skirt and the intertank. Along with the liquid hydrogen tank, it will provide fuel to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the core stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to launch NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket can send astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Space Launch System Corestage-1 (Artemis-1) in production at the Michoud Assembly Faclility in New Orleans.

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans use a heavy-lift mobile transport apparatus to move a 51-foot-tall liquid oxygen tank out of the vertical assembly building and into the main rocket factory on June 11. The liquidoxygen tank will form part of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis IV mission to the Moon. Next, technicians with Boeing, SLS core stage prime contractor, and NASA will perform dimensional inspections and install internal baffles on the propellant tank before the next phase of production. The propellant tank will hold more than 196,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid oxygen at launch and is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall SLS rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines at its base, produces more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, ronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

This image highlights the liquid hydrogen tank that will be used on the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program. The tank is being built at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. 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. The liquid hydrogen tank holds 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit and sits between the core stage’s intertank and engine section. The liquid hydrogen hardware, along with the liquid oxygen tank, will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the cores stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to launch NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the human landing system, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket can send astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

This image highlights the liquid oxygen tank, which will be used on the core stage of NASA’ Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. 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. The forward skirt houses flight computers, cameras, and avionics systems. The liquid oxygen tank holds 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen cooled to minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit. The LOX hardware sits between the core stage’s forward skirt and the intertank. Along with the liquid hydrogen tank, it will provide fuel to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the core stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to launch NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket can send astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans load alluminum alloy panels into the Vertical Weld Center June 1. The Vertical Weld Center is a friction-stir weld tool for the large structures of the core stage for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. Teams load the panels into the VWC using an overhead crane system, then multiple panels are welded together to create entire barrels. The panels in these images are some of the five barrels that will form the SLS liquid hydrogen propellant tank for the SLS rocket that will power NASA’s Artemis IV mission, which is also the first flight of SLS in its more powerful Block 1B configuration. 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. The liquid hydrogen propellant tank holds 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 432 degrees Fahrenheit and sits between the core stage’s intertank and engine section. The liquid hydrogen hardware, along with the liquid oxygen tank, provides propellant to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the core stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch the Artemis IV mission to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

These photos and videos show how technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans installed the third and fourth RS-25 engines onto the core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. Technicians added the first engine to the SLS core stage Sept. 11. The second engine was installed onto the stage Sept. 15 with the third and fourth engines following Sept. 19 and Sept. 20. Engineers consider the engines to be “soft” mated to the rocket stage. Technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will now focus efforts on the complex tax of fully securing the engines to the stage and integrating the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move the liquid oxygen tank for the core stage of the agency’s Artemis III mission into the facility’s vertical assembly building on Nov.3. Eventually, teams with SLS (Space Launch System) prime contractor, Boeing, will lift the tank into the production cell currently housing the intertank and mate the flight hardware together before capping them off with the forward skirt to complete the core stage forward join. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams move a liquid hydrogen tank for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket out of a priming cell and into an adjacent cell on May 20 at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Inside the cell, the tank, which will be used on the core stage of NASA’s Artemis III mission, will receive its thermal protection system. The thermal protection system, or spray-on foam insulation, provides protection to the core stage during launch. It is flexible enough to move with the rocket yet can withstand the aerodynamic pressures as the SLS accelerates from 0 to 17,500 mph and soars to more than 100 miles above the Earth. This third-generation insulation is more environmentally friendly and keeps the cryogenic propellant, which powers the rocket’s four RS-25 engines, extremely cold (the liquid hydrogen must remain at minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit/253 degrees Celsius) to remain in its liquid state. When applied the thermal protection system is a light-yellow color, which “tans” once exposed to the Sun’s ultraviolet rays, giving the SLS core stage its signature orange color.

: These photos and videos show how technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans installed the third and fourth RS-25 engines onto the core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. Technicians added the first engine to the SLS core stage Sept. 11. The second engine was installed onto the stage Sept. 15 with the third and fourth engines following Sept. 19 and Sept. 20. Engineers consider the engines to be “soft” mated to the rocket stage. Technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will now focus efforts on the complex tax of fully securing the engines to the stage and integrating the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

These photos and videos show teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans preparing, moving, and loading the engine section of a future SLS (Space Launch System) rocket to NASA’s Pegasus barge Aug. 28. The hardware will form the bottom-most section of the SLS core stage that will power NASA’s Artemis IV mission, which will be the first mission to the Gateway space station in lunar orbit under the Artemis campaign. The barge will transport the spaceflight hardware to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida via the agency’s Pegasus barge. Once in Florida, the engine section will undergo final outfitting inside Kennedy’s Space Station Processing Facility.