Pegasus Barge Departs KSC

NASA’s Pegasus barge, seen off toward the right, prepares to depart from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 4, 2020, for its trip to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. The Pegasus barge arrived at Kennedy on July 29, delivering the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket – the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built, providing the muscle necessary to get to the Moon and eventually to Mars. The LVSA – now undergoing processing inside the Vehicle Assembly Building – will connect the core stage of the rocket to the upper stage. The next time the Pegasus barge returns to Kennedy, it will be carrying the SLS core stage – the final piece of the rocket that needs to be delivered ahead of the Artemis I launch.

NASA’s Pegasus barge, seen off toward the right, prepares to depart from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 4, 2020, for its trip to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. The Pegasus barge arrived at Kennedy on July 29, delivering the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket – the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built, providing the muscle necessary to get to the Moon and eventually to Mars. The LVSA – now undergoing processing inside the Vehicle Assembly Building – will connect the core stage of the rocket to the upper stage. The next time the Pegasus barge returns to Kennedy, it will be carrying the SLS core stage – the final piece of the rocket that needs to be delivered ahead of the Artemis I launch.

Photographer NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Location Turn Basin