Artemis III SLS Core Stage Weather Cover Arrival

Teams load a weather cover for the Artemis III SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage on Monday, June 22, 2026, from NASA’s Pegasus barge at the Launch Complex 39 turn basin to transport the hardware to the spaceport’s Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The cover will protect the stage’s thermal systems while SLS sits atop the mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B in its short stack configuration. NASA will send four Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, establish an enduring human presence on the lunar surface, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Teams load a weather cover for the Artemis III SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage on Monday, June 22, 2026, from NASA’s Pegasus barge at the Launch Complex 39 turn basin to transport the hardware to the spaceport’s Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The cover will protect the stage’s thermal systems while SLS sits atop the mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B in its short stack configuration. NASA will send four Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, establish an enduring human presence on the lunar surface, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Album Artemis_III
ArtemisArtemis IIIKSCKennedy Space CenterMoonPegasus bargeSLSSpace Launch SystemTurn BasinVABVehicle Assembly Buildingrocket