Artemis II Core Stage Lift from HB2 to Transfer Aisle

Technicians from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems use massive cranes inside the agency’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to lift the fully assembled SLS (Space Launch System) core stage vertically 225 feet above the ground from High Bay 2 to a horizontal position in the facility’s transfer aisle at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 14, 2025. The 212-foot core stage will undergo final checkouts before being lifted into the VAB’s High Bay 3 for integration alongside the completed stack of twin solid rocket booster segments.

Technicians from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems use massive cranes inside the agency’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to lift the fully assembled SLS (Space Launch System) core stage vertically 225 feet above the ground from High Bay 2 to a horizontal position in the facility’s transfer aisle at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 14, 2025. The 212-foot core stage will undergo final checkouts before being lifted into the VAB’s High Bay 3 for integration alongside the completed stack of twin solid rocket booster segments.

Photographer NASA/Kim Shiflett
Album Artemis_II
Location VAB
John F Kennedy Space CenterKennedyKennedy Space CenterKSCSpaceportCape CanaveralNASArocket ranchFloridamulti-user spaceportpremier spaceportspace coastcapeArtemis IISLSSpace Launch Systemscore stageVABVehicle Assembly BuildingKennedy Space CenterEGSExploration Ground Systems