National Aeronautics and Space Administration

www.nasa.gov

SPACE

LAUNCH

SYSTEM

JULY – SEPTEMBER 2023

ALL ABOARD FOR 

ARTEMIS II
ARTEMIS II SLS ROCKET BOOSTER 

SEGMENTS ARRIVE AT NASA’S 

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER

ARTEMIS II

The 10 booster motor segments that will form the NASA SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters 

for the agency’s Artemis II mission arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023.

The 10 booster motor segments for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help propel 

the Artemis II astronauts in the Orion spacecraft on a 

trip around the Moon arrived at the agency’s Kennedy 

Space Center in Florida, Sept. 25. They will form the SLS 

rocket’s twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters that 

produce more than 75% of the total thrust at liftoff to 

send NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

Due to their weight, the 10 booster motor segments 

traveled by rail across eight states in specialized 

transporters to the spaceport. Teams with NASA’s 

Exploration Ground Systems Program now are preparing 

to process each of the segments inside the space 

center’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility ahead of 

integrating them inside the Vehicle Assembly Building.

“The arrival of the SLS solid rocket booster motor 

segments is an important turning point as NASA and our 

Artemis partners begin readying for stacking and launch 

preparations for Artemis II,” said Amit Kshatriya, Deputy 

Associate Administrator for the Moon to Mars Program 

Office at NASA Headquarters. “Fully stacked, these 

boosters for NASA’s SLS rocket are the largest, most 

powerful ever built for spaceflight and will help send the 

first astronauts around the Moon in more than 50 years.” 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/48SdVQu
ALL ENGINES ADDED TO NASA’S 

ARTEMIS II SLS CORE STAGE

ARTEMIS II

Engineers and technicians from NASA; Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company; and Boeing at NASA’s Michoud 

Assembly Facility in New Orleans have installed all four RS-25 engines to the core stage for the Artemis II SLS that will help power the 

first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon.

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have connected all four RS-25 engines onto 

the core stage for NASA’s Artemis II SLS Moon rocket. 

The Artemis II flight test is the agency’s first crewed 

mission under Artemis.

Technicians added the first engine to SLS’s core stage 

Sept. 11. Teams installed the second engine onto 

the stage Sept. 15, with the third and fourth engines 

Sept. 19 and Sept. 20. Technicians with NASA; Aerojet 

Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the 

RS-25 engines lead contractor; along with Boeing, the 

core stage lead contractor, then focused efforts on the 

complex task of fully securing the engines to the stage 

and integrating the propulsion and electrical systems 

within the structure. 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/3PKEY7r
TECHNICIANS ADD “TARGET” 

TO NASA ARTEMIS II’S INTERIM 

CRYOGENIC PROPULSION STAGE

An Orion rendezvous target that will be used during a flight demonstration on the Artemis II mission was attached May 16 to the SLS 

interim cryogenic propulsion stage, shown here surrounded by a work platform.

ARTEMIS II

A critical auxiliary target for NASA’s Artemis II mission is ready for flight following testing at United Launch 

Alliance’s (ULA) Florida facility. Teams with the company 

added the target onto the in-space propulsion stage for SLS 

at ULA’s Delta Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Space 

Force Station May 16. 

Following the safe separation of NASA’s Orion spacecraft 

from the rocket’s upper stage during Artemis II, the four 

astronauts aboard Orion will use the target affixed to the inspace stage for a proximity operations demonstration to test 

Orion’s piloting qualities. The target underwent illumination 

testing in May to ensure it will be visible in the different 

lighting conditions of space.

The SLS rocket delivers propulsion in phases to send the 

Artemis missions to the Moon. Its ICPS (interim cryogenic 

propulsion stage) and its single RL10 engine fires twice 

during the Artemis II mission to put the Orion spacecraft and 

astronauts into a high-Earth orbit, where they will then check 

out Orion’s manual handling qualities using the ICPS and its 

auxiliary target before then heading to the Moon.

Read more: go.nasa.gov/3RIzsoz
ARTEMIS II

SLS FLIGHT SOFTWARE 

FOR ARTEMIS II MEETS 

TESTING CHECKPOINT

An engineer evaluates the avionics configuration inside the Systems Integration Laboratory (SIL) at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center 

in Huntsville, Alabama.

The first Artemis astronauts have begun crew trainingfor their Artemis II mission around the Moon, and 

teams at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in 

Huntsville, Alabama, are testing and configuring the flight 

software for the mega Moon rocket that will launch them 

on their journey.

When SLS launches NASA’s Artemis II crew aboard Orion, 

it will produce more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust. The 

SLS rocket’s flight software acts as the “brains” of the 

rocket, activated and checked 48 hours prior to launch 

to command all that power and energy for the first eight 

minutes of the mission through the separation of the 

ICPS. Inside the SLS Software Development Facility (SDF) 

at Marshall, software engineers recently completed the 

first part of formal qualification testing for the Artemis II 

SLS flight software.

The rocket’s flight software consists of approximately 

50,000 lines of code. To test the SLS computer systems 

and flight software ahead of launch, a team inside the 

SDF simulates a series of normal and off-nominal SLSrocket and environmental scenarios, called test cases. 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/48ABcX3
ARTEMIS III ICPS 

ARRIVES IN FLORIDA FOR 

ADDITIONAL PROCESSING

ARTEMIS III

The Artemis III ICPS is transported at ULA’s facilities at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The upper stage for the SLS rocket that will power the Artemis III mission and send astronauts on to the 

Moon for a lunar landing arrived at the Cape Canaveral 

Space Force Station Poseidon Wharf in Florida Aug. 9. It 

will undergo final checkouts by contractors Boeing and 

ULA at ULA’s facilities before it is delivered to nearby 

Kennedy.

SLS’s ICPS is responsible for giving Orion and the 

astronauts inside the big push – called a trans-lunar 

injection – to journey to the Moon on a precise trajectory 

during Artemis III. The ICPS for the mission is the last of 

its kind as Artemis missions beginning with Artemis IV will 

use the SLS Block 1B configuration with its more powerful 

exploration upper stage for launch and flight.
THIRD SUBSCALE BOOSTER 

FIRES UP AT MARSHALL TO 

TEST MATERIALS FOR FUTURE 

ARTEMIS MISSIONS 

Engineers at Marshall conducted a hot fire of a 24-inch subscale solid rocket motor Sept. 14. The test, 

conducted in Marshall’s East Test Area, produced more 

than 82,000 pounds of thrust and was part of an ongoing 

series of developmental tests for an upgraded booster 

design for future configurations of SLS.

Engineers at Marshall conducted a hot fire of a 24-inch subscale solid rocket motor for SLS solid rocket booster development Sept. 14.

ARTEMIS IX

Beginning with Artemis IX, the SLS rocket in its Block 2 

configuration will use the BOLE (booster obsolescence 

and life extension) evolved booster. The more powerful 

solid rocket motor will give the SLS rocket the capability 

to send even heavier payloads to the Moon for future 

Artemis missions and other areas of deep space. 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/46EJpaE
I AM ARTEMIS: 

CODY JONES

Cody Jones is a project manager for SLS ICPS.

When Cody Jones graduated with a degree in communication arts from the University of Alabama 

in Huntsville (UAH) in 2011, he had no idea what he was 

supposed to do next. “I graduated with my degree in 

a place named ‘The Rocket City,’ but I never imagined 

myself as someone who would work with rockets,” 

Jones said.

However, a professor saw Cody’s potential and suggested 

he apply for an internship working as a payload 

communicator in the International Space Station Payload 

ARTEMIS II

Operations and Integration Center at Marshall. Although 

the position was intended for someone with a technical 

background, Jones’ communication skills, persistence, 

and willingness to learn about the aerospace industry got 

him the job and helped make him successful in that initial 

role. It led him to his current one as project manager for 

the SLS ICPS, which is managed by Marshall and will help 

NASA land the first woman and first person of color on the 

Moon under Artemis. 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/45jBBKn
WHAT’S NEW IN SLS SOCIAL MEDIA

“FUEL” AND FIRE: 

NASA’S ARTEMIS 

MISSIONS TO 

THE MOON, FEAT. 

METALLICA

What do Metallica and NASA’s Artemis missions to 

the Moon have in common? Both love “Fuel” and 

fire. See footage of the Artemis I launch scored by 

Metallica’s “Fuel.” 

Watch here: bit.ly/3Q20F4a

ARTEMIS II CREW 

PARTICIPATES IN 

TEST AT LAUNCH 

COMPLEX 39B

In September, the Artemis II crew participated 

in a Launch Day Demonstration which included 

traveling to Launch Complex 39B and then to 

the crew access arm that will be used to board 

NASA’s Orion spacecraft on launch day. While the 

SLS rocket and Orion were not present during this 

demonstration, tests like this help prepare the team 

for all the operations needed to get the crew to their 

ride that will take them around the Moon. 

Watch here: bit.ly/3ZFSfTr

What a view!

This past week the crew for NASA Artemis II participated in a Launch Day Demonstration which 

included them traveling to Launch Pad 39B and then to the crew access arm used to board NASA’s 

Orion Spacecraft on launch day.

While the SLS rocket and Orion were not present during this demonstration, tests like this help 

prepare the team for all the operations needed to get the crew to their ride that will take them 

around the Moon. ... See more

...
SLS ON THE ROAD

SLS Chief Engineer John Blevins (third from right) participated on a panel with Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot Charlie Duke (third from 

left), current and retired astronauts, and current and retired NASA engineers at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture 

convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, July 24.

During an August site visit, SLS Program Manager John Honeycutt shakes the hand of one of the hundreds of employees in Augusta, 

Kansas, who helps build SLS.
SPACEFLIGHT 

PARTNERS:

Amorim Cork 

Composites

LOCATION: Trevor, Wisconsin

WHAT THEY DO FOR SLS:

Amorim Cork Composites supplies 

cork for thermal protection of the 

solid rocket boosters. Established 

in Wisconsin in 1946, Amorim Cork 

Composites produce a 100% natural, 

recyclable, renewable, and sustainable 

product that can resist temperatures 

up to 248 Fahrenheit.

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