NASA rolls out critical rocket part for upcoming manned Artemis II mission
by Mark Moran
Washington DC (UPI) Aug 22, 2024

NASA has taken the next critical step in preparing for the launch of its first crewed Artemis space mission, the agency announced Thursday.

On Wednesday, crews rolled out a key piece of space flight hardware, a cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter, that will connect the rocket's core stage to its upper one, protecting the engines that will help propel the Artemis II in a test flight around the moon, a mission scheduled for next year.

"The launch vehicle stage adapter is the largest SLS component for Artemis II that is made at the center," said Space Launch System Spacecraft Payload Integration and Evolution element manager Chris Calfee.

The SLS is touted by NASA as the only rocket that can send NASA's Orion spacecraft, four astronauts, and large cargo directly to the moon on a single mission.

The system "is a super heavy-lift rocket that provides the foundation for human exploration beyond Earth orbit," NASA said in a statement describing it.

The SLS is highly efficient and flexible, capable of supporting a range of missions while keeping them less complex, agency officials said. NASA said it aims to send Orion or other cargo to the moon, nearly 1,000 times farther than where the International Space Station resides in low-Earth orbit.

"The high-performance rocket provides the power to help Orion reach a speed of 24,500 mph -- the speed needed to send it to the moon," NASA said.

"To fulfill America's future needs for deep space missions, SLS will evolve into increasingly more powerful configurations."

The hardware for the Artemis II mission was produced and tested at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and will begin the highly calculated and planned trek via NASA's Pegasus barge to the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"Both the adapters for the SLS rocket that will power the Artemis II and Artemis III missions are fully produced at NASA Marshall. Alabama plays a key role in returning astronauts to the moon," NASA officials said.

Once stage adaptor arrives in Florida, engineers will work to connect the adapter to the core stage and get the craft ready for launch after more testing.

The Artemis II project is part of NASA's Exploration Ground Systems Project.

With the key piece of Artemis II spaceflight hardware out the door, engineers continue to focus on the launch vehicle stage adapter for Artemis III.

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