All the pieces are stacking up – literally – for NASA’s first crewed mission of the Artemis program coming in 2026. Teams are finishing integration of the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II test flight with its launch abort system on Sept. 17 inside the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in … Read more
NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket poised to send four astronauts from Earth on a journey around the Moon next year may appear identical to the Artemis I SLS rocket. On closer inspection, though, engineers have upgraded the agency’s Moon rocket inside and out to improve performance, reliability, and safety. SLS flew a … Read more
The first crew slated to fly in NASA’s Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II mission around the Moon early next year entered their spacecraft for a multi-day training at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Crew donned their spacesuits July 31 and boarded Orion to train and experience some of the conditions they can … Read more
Listen to this audio excerpt from Joe Pavicic, Artemis operations project engineer Your browser does not support the audio element. Joe Pavicic will never forget when he told the Artemis launch director teams were NO-GO for launch. Before Artemis I lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in November 2022, the launch team … Read more
NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) teamed up June 11 and 12 to simulate emergency procedures they would use to rescue the Artemis II crew in the event of a launch emergency. The simulations, which took place off the coast of Florida and were supported by launch and flight control teams, are preparing NASA … Read more
Listen to this audio excerpt from Liliana Villarreal, Artemis Landing & Recovery Director: Your browser does not support the audio element. Lili Villarreal fell in love with space exploration from an early age when she and her family visited the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. So, it should come as no surprise that … Read more
Teams responsible for preparing and launching Artemis II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida are set to begin a series of integrated tests to get ready for the mission. With the upper stage of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) integrated with other elements of the rocket, engineers are set to start the tests … Read more
Engineers, technicians, mission planners, and the four astronauts set to fly around the Moon next year on Artemis II, NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission, are rapidly progressing toward launch. At the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, teams are working around the clock to move into integration and final testing of all SLS (Space Launch … Read more
Preparations for NASA’s next Artemis flight recently took to the seas as a joint NASA and Department of Defense team, led by NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program, spent a week aboard the USS Somerset off the coast of California practicing procedures for recovering the Artemis II spacecraft and crew. Following successful completion of Underway Recovery Test-12 … Read more
NASA received the upper stage for the agency’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on Mar. 9 supplied by Boeing and United Launch Alliance (ULA). Known as the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, it arrived at the Multi Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The upper stage traveled to the … Read more