Valley Segment

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Pablo Martinez, a handling, mechanical and structures engineer on the Jacobs Technology Inc. Test and Operations Support Contract, prepares to insert the first of many pins that will secure the Space Launch System’s (SLS) right-hand motor segment to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt. The right-hand motor segment is one of five segments that makes up one of two solid rocket boosters. Once the aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Pablo Martinez, a handling, mechanical and structures engineer on the Jacobs Technology Inc. Test and Operations Support Contract, inserts the first of many pins that will secure the Space Launch System’s (SLS) right-hand motor segment to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt. The right-hand motor segment is one of five segments that makes up one of two solid rocket boosters. Once the aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – is prepped for mating to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt on June 24, 2020. Once the booster aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians begin to mate the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt on June 24, 2020. Once the aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the first of many pins that will secure the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt is inserted on June 24, 2020. Once the aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The shipping container that held the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – is photographed inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 24, 2020. The boosters, manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, recently arrived at Kennedy for processing ahead of the Artemis I launch. While in the RPSF, the booster aft segments will be mated to the rocket’s two aft skirts before they are moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Together, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians mate the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt on June 24, 2020. Once the aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians mate the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt on June 24, 2020. Once the aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians inspect the Space Launch System’s (SLS) right-hand aft skirt prior to mating it with the rocket’s right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters – on June 24, 2020. Once the two aft skirts are mated to the aft segments, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – is mated to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt on June 24, 2020. Once the aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – is mated to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt on June 24, 2020. Once the aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – is mated to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt on June 24, 2020. Once the aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician inspects and removes grease from the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – in preparation for mating to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt on June 24, 2020. Once the booster aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Brendan Deuble, a handling, mechanical and structures engineer on the Jacobs Technology Inc. Test and Operations Support Contract, inspects the Space Launch System’s (SLS) right-hand aft skirt inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 24, 2020. While in the RPSF, the aft skirt will be mated with the rocket’s right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters. Once the two aft skirts are mated with the aft segments, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – is mated to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt on June 24, 2020. Once the aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to mate the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt on June 24, 2020. Once the booster aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians inspect the pins that will be used to secure the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – to the right-hand aft skirt on June 24, 2020. Once the aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians mate the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt on June 24, 2020. Once the aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the right-hand motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – is mated to the rocket’s right-hand aft skirt on June 24, 2020. Once the aft segments are mated to the two aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Down the transfer aisle from the Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) core stage, an overhead crane hoists the left aft assembly, or bottom portion of the solid rocket boosters for the SLS Moon rocket inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. The crane will lift the aft assembly on top of the mobile launcher 1 followed by the right aft assembly and stack the remaining booster segments for the Artemis II mission.

In this view inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an Artemis I solid rocket booster center segment stands in the foreground; in the background, a worker with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) applies bright red paint to the agency’s “worm” logo taking shape on the side of the other center segment. The EGS team used a laser projector to mask off the logo with tape, then painted the first coat of the iconic design. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

A worker with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) applies bright red paint to the agency’s “worm” logo taking shape on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The EGS team used a laser projector to mask off the logo with tape, then painted the first coat of the iconic design. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

Silhouetted against the bright Florida sunlight outside, a worker with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) applies bright red paint to the agency’s “worm” logo taking shape on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center. The EGS team used a laser projector to mask off the logo with tape, then painted the first coat of the iconic design. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

A worker with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) finishes the first coat of the bright red “worm” logo taking shape on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The EGS team used a laser projector to mask off the logo with tape, then painted the first coat of the iconic design. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

A worker with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) finishes the first coat of the bright red “worm” logo taking shape on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The EGS team used a laser projector to mask off the logo with tape, then painted the first coat of the iconic design. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

Workers with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) use a laser projector and green tape to mask off the shape of the agency’s “worm” logo on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Sept. 3, 2020. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

A worker with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) applies bright red paint to the agency’s “worm” logo taking shape on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The EGS team used a laser projector to mask off the logo with tape, then painted the first coat of the iconic design. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

A worker with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) applies bright red paint to the agency’s “worm” logo taking shape on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The EGS team used a laser projector to mask off the logo with tape, then painted the first coat of the iconic design. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

Workers with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) use a laser projector and green tape to mask off the shape of the agency’s “worm” logo on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Sept. 3, 2020. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

A worker with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) finishes the first coat of the bright red “worm” logo taking shape on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The EGS team used a laser projector to mask off the logo with tape, then painted the first coat of the iconic design. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

Workers with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) use a laser projector and green tape to mask off the shape of the agency’s “worm” logo on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Sept. 3, 2020. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

Workers with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) use a laser projector and green tape to mask off the shape of the agency’s “worm” logo on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Sept. 3, 2020. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

A worker with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) finishes the first coat of the bright red “worm” logo taking shape on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The EGS team used a laser projector to mask off the logo with tape, then painted the first coat of the iconic design. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

Workers with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) finishes the first coat of the bright red “worm” logo taking shape on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The EGS team used a laser projector to mask off the logo with tape, then painted the first coat of the iconic design. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

A worker with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) applies bright red paint to the agency’s “worm” logo taking shape on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The EGS team used a laser projector to mask off the logo with tape, then painted the first coat of the iconic design. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

A worker with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) applies bright red paint to the agency’s “worm” logo taking shape on the side of an Artemis I solid rocket booster segment inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The EGS team used a laser projector to mask off the logo with tape, then painted the first coat of the iconic design. The booster segments will help propel the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis I, a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Northrop Grumman, which built the booster segments, is covering the cost of the painting.

Twin rocket boosters for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) that will power Artemis missions to the Moon have arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two motor segments, each comprised of five segments, arrived at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on June 15, 2020, by train from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah. The booster segments will remain in the RPSF for inspection prior to processing until it’s time to move them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. This is the first piece of flight hardware to arrive at Kennedy by train for the Artemis program, but NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) can expect to receive additional hardware soon, including the Launch Vehicle Service Adapter and the rocket’s core stage. NASA is working toward an Artemis I launch date in 2021, keeping the program moving at the best possible pace toward the earliest possible opportunity.

Twin rocket boosters for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) that will power Artemis missions to the Moon have arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two motor segments, each comprised of five segments, arrived at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on June 15, 2020, by train from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah. The booster segments will remain in the RPSF for inspection prior to processing until it’s time to move them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. This is the first piece of flight hardware to arrive at Kennedy by train for the Artemis program, but NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) can expect to receive additional hardware soon, including the Launch Vehicle Service Adapter and the rocket’s core stage. NASA is working toward an Artemis I launch date in 2021, keeping the program moving at the best possible pace toward the earliest possible opportunity.

Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams assist as the right-hand forward segment for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) is lowered onto the center forward segment on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 23, 2021. Stacking of the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher is nearing completion. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The SLS is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Twin rocket boosters for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) that will power Artemis missions to the Moon have arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two motor segments, each comprised of five segments, arrived at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on June 15, 2020, by train from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah. The booster segments will remain in the RPSF for inspection prior to processing until it’s time to move them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. This is the first piece of flight hardware to arrive at Kennedy by train for the Artemis program, but NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) can expect to receive additional hardware soon, including the Launch Vehicle Service Adapter and the rocket’s core stage. NASA is working toward an Artemis I launch date in 2021, keeping the program moving at the best possible pace toward the earliest possible opportunity.

Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams assist as the right-hand forward segment for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) is lowered onto the center forward segment on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 23, 2021. Stacking of the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher is nearing completion. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The SLS is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Twin rocket boosters for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) that will power Artemis missions to the Moon have arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two motor segments, each comprised of five segments, arrived at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on June 15, 2020, by train from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah. The booster segments will remain in the RPSF for inspection prior to processing until it’s time to move them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. This is the first piece of flight hardware to arrive at Kennedy by train for the Artemis program, but NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) can expect to receive additional hardware soon, including the Launch Vehicle Service Adapter and the rocket’s core stage. NASA is working toward an Artemis I launch date in 2021, keeping the program moving at the best possible pace toward the earliest possible opportunity.

Twin rocket boosters for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) that will power Artemis missions to the Moon have arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two motor segments, each comprised of five segments, arrived at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on June 15, 2020, by train from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah. The booster segments will remain in the RPSF for inspection prior to processing until it’s time to move them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. This is the first piece of flight hardware to arrive at Kennedy by train for the Artemis program, but NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) can expect to receive additional hardware soon, including the Launch Vehicle Service Adapter and the rocket’s core stage. NASA is working toward an Artemis I launch date in 2021, keeping the program moving at the best possible pace toward the earliest possible opportunity.

Twin rocket boosters for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) that will power Artemis missions to the Moon have arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two motor segments, each comprised of five segments, arrived at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on June 15, 2020, by train from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah. The booster segments will remain in the RPSF for inspection prior to processing until it’s time to move them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. This is the first piece of flight hardware to arrive at Kennedy by train for the Artemis program, but NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) can expect to receive additional hardware soon, including the Launch Vehicle Service Adapter and the rocket’s core stage. NASA is working toward an Artemis I launch date in 2021, keeping the program moving at the best possible pace toward the earliest possible opportunity.

Twin rocket boosters for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) that will power Artemis missions to the Moon have arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two motor segments, each comprised of five segments, arrived at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on June 15, 2020, by train from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah. The booster segments will remain in the RPSF for inspection prior to processing until it’s time to move them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. This is the first piece of flight hardware to arrive at Kennedy by train for the Artemis program, but NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) can expect to receive additional hardware soon, including the Launch Vehicle Service Adapter and the rocket’s core stage. NASA is working toward an Artemis I launch date in 2021, keeping the program moving at the best possible pace toward the earliest possible opportunity.

Twin rocket boosters for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) that will power Artemis missions to the Moon have arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two motor segments, each comprised of five segments, arrived at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on June 15, 2020, by train from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah. The booster segments will remain in the RPSF for inspection prior to processing until it’s time to move them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. This is the first piece of flight hardware to arrive at Kennedy by train for the Artemis program, but NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) can expect to receive additional hardware soon, including the Launch Vehicle Service Adapter and the rocket’s core stage. NASA is working toward an Artemis I launch date in 2021, keeping the program moving at the best possible pace toward the earliest possible opportunity.

Twin rocket boosters for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) that will power Artemis missions to the Moon have arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two motor segments, each comprised of five segments, arrived at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on June 15, 2020, by train from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah. The booster segments will remain in the RPSF for inspection prior to processing until it’s time to move them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. This is the first piece of flight hardware to arrive at Kennedy by train for the Artemis program, but NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) can expect to receive additional hardware soon, including the Launch Vehicle Service Adapter and the rocket’s core stage. NASA is working toward an Artemis I launch date in 2021, keeping the program moving at the best possible pace toward the earliest possible opportunity.

Twin rocket boosters for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) that will power Artemis missions to the Moon have arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two motor segments, each comprised of five segments, arrived at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on June 15, 2020, by train from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah. The booster segments will remain in the RPSF for inspection prior to processing until it’s time to move them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. This is the first piece of flight hardware to arrive at Kennedy by train for the Artemis program, but NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) can expect to receive additional hardware soon, including the Launch Vehicle Service Adapter and the rocket’s core stage. NASA is working toward an Artemis I launch date in 2021, keeping the program moving at the best possible pace toward the earliest possible opportunity.

Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams assist as the right-hand forward segment for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) is lowered onto the center forward segment on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 23, 2021. Stacking of the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher is nearing completion. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The SLS is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

In the Space Station Processing Facility, the S3/S4 integrated truss segment is on display for the media. The starboard 3/4 truss segment will launch aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-117, targeted for March 15. The element will be added to the 11-segment integrated truss structure, the station's backbone. The integrated truss structure eventually will span more than 300 feet. The S3/S4 truss has two large solar arrays and will provide one-fourth of the total power generation for the completed station.

Inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lowers the right-hand forward segment onto the center forward segment on Feb. 23, 2021. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs are completing the stacking of the twin solid rocket boosters on the mobile launcher for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The SLS is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 17, 2020, the left and right booster segments for the Space Launch System are being prepared for their move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 17, 2020, the left and right booster segments for the Space Launch System are being prepared for their move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

In view inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 17, 2020, are portions of the left and right booster segments for the Space Launch System being prepared for their move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 17, 2020, the left and right booster segments for the Space Launch System are being prepared for their move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 17, 2020, the left and right booster segments for the Space Launch System are being prepared for their move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are being transported from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida by railcar. Departing on June 5, 2020, the boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 17, 2020, the left and right booster segments for the Space Launch System are being prepared for their move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

In view inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 17, 2020, one of the twin booster segments for the Space Launch System is being prepared for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 17, 2020, the left and right booster segments for the Space Launch System are being prepared for their move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 17, 2020, the left and right booster segments for the Space Launch System are being prepared for their move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

At a media showcase in the Space Station Processing Facility, reporters and photographers get a close look at the S3/S4 integrated truss segment. The starboard 3/4 truss segment will launch aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-117, targeted for March 15. The element will be added to the 11-segment integrated truss structure, the station's backbone. The integrated truss structure eventually will span more than 300 feet. The S3/S4 truss has two large solar arrays and will provide one-fourth of the total power generation for the completed station.

In the Space Station Processing Facility, photographers take advantage of a media showcase to get photos of the S3/S4 integrated truss segment. The starboard 3/4 truss segment will launch aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-117, targeted for March 15. The element will be added to the 11-segment integrated truss structure, the station's backbone. The integrated truss structure eventually will span more than 300 feet. The S3/S4 truss has two large solar arrays and will provide one-fourth of the total power generation for the completed station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X center forward segment is secured onto a stand after the segment's removal from the transporter in the foreground. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, cranes attached to the Ares I-X center forward segment raise it to vertical. Once vertical, the segment will be moved to a stand. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X center forward segment has been raised to vertical. The segment will be moved to a stand. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X center forward segment is being raised to vertical. The segment will be moved to a stand. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X center forward segment is prepared for lifting from the transporter. Once vertical, the segment will be moved to a stand. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

Inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lowers the right-hand forward segment onto the center forward segment on Feb. 23, 2021. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs are completing the stacking of the twin solid rocket boosters on the mobile launcher for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). In view at left is the left-hand solid rocket booster. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The SLS is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Workers use a crane to lift the left-hand forward segment up for transfer into High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 18, 2021. The forward segment will be attached to the center forward segment on the mobile launcher. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams are stacking the twin five-segment boosters on the ML over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The SLS is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The left-hand forward segment for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) is in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 18, 2021. Workers will use a crane to lift the segment up and transfer it into High Bay 3, where it will be attached to the center forward segment on the mobile launcher. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams are stacking the twin five-segment boosters on the ML over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The SLS is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The NASA Railroad delivers the first Ares I-X segment to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four reusable motor segments and the nozzle exit cone, manufactured by the Ares I first-stage prime contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc., departed Utah March 12 on the seven-day, cross-country trip to Florida. The segments are being delivered to Kennedy's Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility for final processing and integration. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The motor is the final hardware needed for the rocket's upcoming test flight this summer. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The NASA Railroad delivers the first Ares I-X segment to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four reusable motor segments and the nozzle exit cone, manufactured by the Ares I first-stage prime contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc., departed Utah March 12 on the seven-day, cross-country trip to Florida. The segments are being delivered to Kennedy's Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility for final processing and integration. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The motor is the final hardware needed for the rocket's upcoming test flight this summer. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The NASA Railroad hauls one of the cars with the first Ares I-X segment to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four reusable motor segments and the nozzle exit cone, manufactured by the Ares I first-stage prime contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc., departed Utah March 12 on the seven-day, cross-country trip to Florida. The segments are being delivered to Kennedy's Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility for final processing and integration. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The motor is the final hardware needed for the rocket's upcoming test flight this summer. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The NASA Railroad hauls one of the cars with the first Ares I-X segment to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four reusable motor segments and the nozzle exit cone, manufactured by the Ares I first-stage prime contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc., departed Utah March 12 on the seven-day, cross-country trip to Florida. The segments are being delivered to Kennedy's Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility for final processing and integration. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The motor is the final hardware needed for the rocket's upcoming test flight this summer. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the third of four Ares I-X segments arrives on a transporter. The segment will be raised to a vertical position in order to transfer it to a work stand for final processing and integration in the facility. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Launch of the Ares I-X test flight is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, cranes attached to the Ares I-X center forward segment lift it off the transporter and begin to raise it to vertical. Once vertical, the segment will be moved to a stand. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, cranes attached to the Ares I-X center forward segment lift it off the transporter to raise it to vertical. Once vertical, the segment will be moved to a stand. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, cranes attached to the Ares I-X center forward segment lift it off the transporter to raise it to vertical. Once vertical, the segment will be moved to a stand. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians lift the right aft motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – onto an inspection stand on June 23, 2020. While in the RPSF, the boosters will be mated to the rocket’s two aft skirts before they are moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. The boosters, manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, recently arrived at Kennedy for processing ahead of the Artemis I launch. Together, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians lift the right aft motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – onto an inspection stand on June 23, 2020. While in the RPSF, the boosters will be mated to the rocket’s two aft skirts before they are moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. The boosters, manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, recently arrived at Kennedy for processing ahead of the Artemis I launch. Together, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians lift the right aft motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – onto an inspection stand on June 23, 2020. While in the RPSF, the boosters will be mated to the rocket’s two aft skirts before they are moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. The boosters, manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, recently arrived at Kennedy for processing ahead of the Artemis I launch. Together, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians lift the right aft motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – onto an inspection stand on June 23, 2020. While in the RPSF, the boosters will be mated to the rocket’s two aft skirts before they are moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. The boosters, manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, recently arrived at Kennedy for processing ahead of the Artemis I launch. Together, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.