SPACE 

LAUNCH 

SYSTEM

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

www.nasa.gov

MAY 2021 – AUGUST 2021

ARTEMIS I 

SLS ROCKET STACKED 

FOR TESTING AND LAUNCH
Continued from Cover Page

ARTEMIS I

The launch vehicle stage adapter for the Artemis I SLS is stacked 

on the core stage at the VAB.

The SLS Artemis I core stage seen in the transfer aisle of the VAB 

at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

The Artemis I intertank umbilical is one of multiple connections on 

the mobile launcher that will provide power, communications, and 

pressurized gases to the SLS rocket.

The Artemis I mission reached multiple milestones this summer inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy 

Space Center. On July 5, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) and contractor Jacobs stacked the interim cryogenic 

propulsion stage (ICPS) atop the SLS rocket. The ICPS’s RL10 engine is housed inside the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA), 

which will protect the engine during launch. The adapter connects the rocket’s core stage with the ICPS, which was built by Boeing 

and United Launch Alliance. Prior to the LVSA’s stacking, the Artemis I core stage was mated with the solid rocket boosters in the 

VAB. Following the LVSA, the ICPS was stacked for launch. 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/3Be6BwG
NASA MOON ROCKET FLIGHT 

SOFTWARE READIED FOR 

ARTEMIS I LAUNCH

ARTEMIS I

As crews at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida assemble the Moon rocket for the Artemis I mission, teams have installed the 

flight software that will help steer, fly, track, and guide the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket during launch and ascent to space. 

Engineers loaded the flight software onto the rocket on Aug. 6 after the initial power-up of the core stage, which contains the flight 

computers. With the software installed, engineers are supporting final checkouts and completing tests to certify the software for 

the mission.

The software is loaded on three flight computers, along with the avionics systems inside the SLS rocket’s core stage. The software 

and avionics operate with the rocket’s three flight computers to harness the power of the rocket through ascent and communicate 

with avionics systems inside the engines and the boosters. That same software is monitored in real time by NASA’s EGS team at 

the agency’s launch complex at Kennedy and SLS Program engineers at the SLS Engineering Support Center at Marshall.

Read more: go.nasa.gov/2U7jXuY

The SLS Artemis I core stage is lowered into position on the mobile launcher between the solid rocket boosters at the VAB.
ORION STAGE ADAPTER 

READIED FOR RIDE ON 

ARTEMIS I

ARTEMIS I

The Orion stage adapter for Artemis I is loaded with nine CubeSats and avionics unit (black) 

and prepared for launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The CubeSats were loaded in 

August, and final preparations and installations will be completed prior to stacking later 

this fall.

On July 14, the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) 

Scout and Lunar IceCube secondary 

payloads were the first to be installed in 

the SLS rocket’s Orion stage adapter for 

the Artemis I mission at NASA’s Kennedy 

Space Center in Florida.

The OMOTENASHI (Outstanding MOon 

exploration Technologies demonstrated 

by NAno Semi-Hard Impactor) team 

prepares its payload for a ride on NASA’s 

SLS rocket during the Artemis I mission. 

If successful, OMOTENASHI will be the 

smallest spacecraft ever to land on the 

lunar surface and will mark Japan as the 

fourth nation to successfully land a craft 

on the Moon.

Technicians continue to prepare small satellites, called CubeSats, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for their upcoming 

launch on the Artemis I mission. Technicians from the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs worked with 

developers of the shoebox-sized secondary payloads as they underwent final processing and were secured inside the Orion stage 

adapter.

The ring-shaped stage adapter will be connected to the SLS interim cryogenic propulsion stage and the Orion spacecraft will 

be secured on top. All CubeSats will be deployed after SLS completes its primary mission, launching the Orion spacecraft on a 

trajectory toward the Moon. Although small in size, the CubeSats will conduct a variety of science experiments and technology 

demonstrations including some that will expand our knowledge of the lunar surface during the Artemis I mission. 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/2UdadPT
NASA STACKS ELEMENTS FOR 

UPPER PORTION OF ARTEMIS II 

CORE STAGE

ARTEMIS II

NASA’s SLS team fully stacked three hardware elements together May 24 to form the top of the rocket’s core stage for the Artemis 

II mission. NASA and core stage prime contractor Boeing connected the forward skirt with the liquid oxygen tank and intertank 

flight hardware inside an assembly area at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Teams had previously stacked

the liquid oxygen tank and intertank on April 28. The joining of the three structures together is the first major assembly of core 

stage hardware for Artemis II, the first crewed Artemis mission and second flight of the SLS rocket. Next, technicians will work to 

complete outfitting and integrating the systems within the upper structure. The liquid oxygen tank in the upper portion of the stage 

will hold 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen cooled to minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, the forward skirt and intertank 

house avionics, flight computer, and electronic systems for the rocket stage.

Read more: go.nasa.gov/3uqydes

The Artemis II core stage forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, and intertank are joined at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility.
FIRST PIECE OF ARTEMIS II 

ROCKET HARDWARE ARRIVES 

IN FLORIDA

ARTEMIS II

The interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) for the second flight of SLS rocket arrived in Florida on July 28 for the final phase 

of production. The stage and its single RL10 engine provide the in-space propulsion needed to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft 

and its crew on a precise trajectory to the Moon for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis lunar missions. It is the 

first major completed element of the rocket for the Artemis II flight to arrive in Florida. Boeing and United Launch Alliance, the 

contractor team for the stage, shipped the ICPS from ULA’s facilities in Decatur, Alabama, to its Delta IV Operations Center at Cape 

Canaveral Space Force Station. The stage will undergo final processing and checkout before it is transported to NASA’s Kennedy 

Space Center for launch preparations. 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/3AMLKjO
NASA CONTINUES RS-25 TESTING 

WITH SIXTH INSTALLMENT AT 

STENNIS SPACE CENTER

ARTEMIS V

An RS-25 engine for the SLS Program is fired up as part of a new test series at Stennis Space Center.

NASA conducted its sixth RS-25 single-engine hot fire Aug. 5 on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, 

Mississippi, a continuation of its seven-part test series to support development and production of engines for the agency’s SLS 

rocket on future missions to the Moon. Operators fired the engine for more than eight minutes (500 seconds), the same amount 

of time RS-25 engines need to fire for launch of the SLS rocket. Four RS-25 engines, with a pair of solid rocket boosters, will help 

power SLS at launch.

In addition to providing performance data to Aerojet Rocketdyne, lead contractor for the SLS engines, the Aug. 5 test enabled the 

team to evaluate new engine components manufactured with cutting-edge and cost-saving technologies, eliminate operating risks, 

and enhance engine production. In addition to operating the engine at 109 percent of its original power level for extended periods 

during the hot fire, NASA verified new manufacturing processes while evaluating the performance of the engine’s low-pressure 

fuel turbopump. The pump significantly boosts the pressure of liquid hydrogen delivered to the high-pressure fuel turbopump to 

help prevent cavitating, the forming of “bubbles” or “voids,” that can collapse or cause shock waves that may damage machinery. 

NASA is building SLS as the world’s most powerful rocket to send the agency’s Orion spacecraft to the Moon

Read more: go.nasa.gov/3fz9ksn
WHAT’S NEW IN SLS SOCIAL MEDIA

SLS FEELS 

THE BREEZE IN 

ONGOING TEST 

SERIES

Researchers are completing testing and looking 

ahead to future Artemis missions to ensure 

the next version of the SLS rocket will safely 

transport crew and cargo. 

Read more here: go.nasa.gov/3BwIs5F

ARTEMIS I SIMULATIONS RAMP UP FOR 

THE COUNTDOWN

In July, teams participated in the first joint integrated launch countdown simulation for Artemis I. The training exercise involved 

engineers from multiple centers, including Marshall’s SLS Engineering Support Center, coming together to rehearse all aspects of 

the launch countdown, from cryogenic loading to liftoff. Read more: go.nasa.gov/3eCuYLZ
SLS ON THE ROAD

SLS Strategic Communications Manager Marcia Lindstrom updated teachers from across the country at Space Academy for 

Educators at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center on July 16. Lindstrom gave a briefing on SLS and Artemis to the group.

NASA Space Launch System Chief Engineer Dr. John Blevins, right, and Deputy Chief Engineer Mat Bevill filmed a congratulatory 

video for the competitors of NASA’s Student Launch Artemis Challenge, which was held virtually this year. 

Watch here: go.nasa.gov/2WpBOOS
SPACEFLIGHT 

PARTNERS: 

Major Tool & 

Machine

WHAT THEY DO FOR SLS:

Major Tool & Machine works with Aerojet 

Rocketdyne to produce critical hardware 

for the RS-25 restart production contract. 

Combining state-of-the-art computerized 

numerical control (CNC) machines and 

innovative processes, Major Tool has 

successfully produced parts for all sections 

of the RS-25 engine: the powerhead, the 

main combustion chamber, and the nozzle. 

The company also supports the SLS 

program with machining and testing for the 

boosters, core stage, Orion crew module, 

and Orion stage adapter.

LOCATION: Indianapolis, Indiana

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 411

NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne recognize Major Tool & 

Machine for their performance and contributions to the 

RS-25 program.

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