Technicians with Lockheed Martin prepare the Artemis II Orion spacecraft for the installation of three spacecraft adapter jettison fairings inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. The fairings encapsulate the service module and protect the solar array wings, shielding them from the heat, wind, and acoustics of launch and ascent, plus help redistribute the load between Orion and the massive thrust of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket during liftoff and ascent. Once the spacecraft is above the atmosphere, the three fairing panels will separate from the service module reducing the mass of the spacecraft.
Photographer NASA/Allison Tankersley
Album Artemis_II
Location Operations and Checkout Building
Date March 10, 2025