SPACE 

LAUNCH 

SYSTEM

MAY – SEPTEMBER 2022

BRINK OF A 

NEW ERA

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

www.nasa.gov
ARTEMIS I MOON ROCKET 

UNDERGOES FINAL TESTS, 

PREPARES FOR LAUNCH

ARTEMIS I

The Artemis I SLS rocket vents liquid oxygen during the first launch 

attempt on Aug. 29, 2022, at Kennedy Space Center.

The Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft 

stand at Launch Pad 39B during sunrise on Aug. 31, 2022.
ARTEMIS I

Continued from previous page

SLS Chief Engineer Dr. John Blevins, center, works with members of the launch team in Firing Room 2 at Kennedy’s Launch Control Center 

during the cryogenic propellant loading demonstration test on Sept. 21, 2022.

NASA and the human spaceflight community are on the brink of a new era of deep space exploration. The Artemis I mission will be 

the first flight of NASA’s new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. Artemis I was rolled out to the launch pad 

on Aug. 16-17 for its maiden voyage. During that Aug. 29 launch attempt, due to a sensor issue, teams were not able to confirm 

a proper chilldown of the four RS-25 engines, with engine 3 showing higher temperatures than the other engines. Teams also saw 

a hydrogen leak during tanking. A second launch attempt was performed on Sept. 3, but was called off due to another, separate 

hydrogen leak during tanking operations.

Following the Sept. 3 scrub, platforms were assembled around the tail service mast umbilical and the seal on the quick disconnect 

was replaced between the liquid hydrogen fuel feed line on the mobile launcher and the SLS rocket while at the launch pad. The 

team then performed a cryogenic demonstration test to evaluate the new seal on a “quick disconnect” assembly and test updated 

propellant loading and pre-launch procedures. Teams completed all the test objectives and prepared for a third launch attempt. The 

decision was made to roll back to the Vehicle Assembly Building ahead of the approaching Hurricane Ian to allow team members to 

address the needs of their families and to protect the integrated rocket and spacecraft system. Roll back occurred on Sept. 26-27. 

Teams are now preparing for launch opportunities beginning on Nov. 14, 2022. 

Follow along with progress of the Artemis I mission at the Artemis blog: blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/
ARTEMIS I

NASA COMPLETES WET 

DRESS REHEARSAL PRIOR 

TO ARTEMIS I LAUNCH 

ATTEMPTS

NASA analyzed the data from the wet dress 

rehearsal conducted Monday, June 20 and 

determined the testing campaign was complete 

and teams could then complete final preparations 

for launch in August. Teams rolled the integrated 

SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft for Artemis I 

as well as the mobile launcher from the Vehicle 

Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s 

Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5-6. 

During the test campaign, teams were able to 

validate the timelines and procedures for launch, 

including loading cryogenic, or super cold, 

propellant into the rocket’s tanks. The rehearsal 

focused on two primary objectives and several 

secondary objectives to help ensure the team 

was ready to launch the Artemis I flight test.

Following completion in June, Artemis I was 

rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building and 

prepared for flight. Flight preparations included 

installing the flight termination system batteries. 

Teams then rolled SLS and Orion back to the 

Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy on July 

2 for final launch preparations ahead of the 

August launch period. 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/39WRb8d A full Moon is in view from Launch 

Complex 39B at Kennedy Space 

Center on June 14, 2022, during the 

wet dress rehearsal test campaign.
ENGINEERS CHILL SPACE 

LAUNCH SYSTEM ROCKET 

ENGINES BEFORE LAUNCH 

ARTEMIS I

The four RS-25 engines on SLS produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust. The four RS-25 engines last fired during the core stage Green 

Run hot fire test at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, in March 2021.

The SLS core stage rocket engines are high-performance machines that are exposed to extremely low temperatures and extremely 

high temperatures and pressures during fueling and flight. During launch, more than 700,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid 

oxygen must be delivered from the SLS core stage tanks to the four RS-25 engines at a consistent temperature and pressure. 

Liquid hydrogen fuel flows into the engines at the extreme super cold, or cryogenic, temperatures of minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit 

and liquid oxygen at minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit.

Before this massive amount of propellant is delivered to the engines, SLS engineers chill the engines to thermally condition them 

to receive the propellant. The engine thermal conditioning is “kick started” by delivering liquid hydrogen to the engines at the same 

time the liquid hydrogen core stage tank is being filled. By doing this early in the launch countdown, engineers can evaluate data 

and ensure that the engine components are sufficiently saturated with super cold liquid hydrogen that chills them before they 

proceed with terminal count down leading to launch. 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/3xX5FOj
NASA COMPLETES 

TEST FIRING OF FUTURE 

ARTEMIS BOOSTER MOTOR

ARTEMIS IV

A single solid rocket booster motor fires up at Northrop Grumman’s test facility in Promontory, Utah, on July 21, 2022.

Teams from the SLS Program and Northrop Grumman successfully fired a ground-based version of a booster for NASA’s mega 

Moon rocket at Northrop Grumman’s test facility in Promontory, Utah, July 21. 

Secured horizontally in a test stand, the single five-segment booster motor fired for just over two minutes and produced 3.6 million 

pounds of thrust. The booster for the test, called Flight Support Booster-2 (FSB-2), is the same size and has the same power as a 

booster used for launch. Together, the twin solid rocket boosters on SLS produce more than 75% of the initial thrust for an Artemis 

launch. NASA and Northrop Grumman, the SLS booster lead contractor, are using the test data to evaluate improvements and new 

materials in the boosters for missions after Artemis III.

The latest booster firing demonstrated the performance of a new motor ignition system and thrust vector control, or steering, 

system. It also tested new motor components, materials, and processes that may be used to replace obsolete materials and also 

in the development of the next-generation boosters under the booster obsolescence and life extension effort that supports Artemis 

IX and beyond. 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/3CfFe95
SUBSCALE BOOSTER MOTOR 

FOR FUTURE ARTEMIS MISSIONS 

FIRES UP AT MARSHALL

ARTEMIS IX

Engineers successfully fired a 2-foot-diameter, subscale solid rocket booster June 1 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The 

test, conducted in Marshall’s East Test Area, produced 92,000 pounds of thrust and was done as part of the booster obsolescence 

and life extension (BOLE) effort, providing an upgraded booster design for the evolved configuration of the SLS rocket for Artemis 

IX and beyond. The BOLE booster will be a larger and more powerful solid rocket motor to make the SLS rocket capable of sending 

heavier payloads to the Moon and beyond.

The test was the second in the series to evaluate the new motor design with an added half segment, a new propellant, a new aft 

dome design, and a new nozzle design. The first test was completed Dec. 2, 2021, and produced 76,400 pounds of thrust.

Read more: go.nasa.gov/3RcCH3C

NASA engineers complete a subscale solid rocket motor test June 1, 2022, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
SPOTLIGHT

MARK VACCARO

Mark is the manager of the structures 

and assembly team for the SLS solid 

rocket boosters.

For many NASA employees, playing a role in space exploration fuels their passion for the work they do. For Mark Vaccaro, that 

passion comes from seeing structures and components come together to become new, powerful machines. As manager of the 

structures and assembly team for the SLS solid rocket boosters, Vaccaro oversees the integration of the boosters with SLS, the 

most powerful rocket NASA has ever built. He has helped get booster hardware ready for the Artemis I launch at Kennedy Space 

Center in Florida. He also leads the teams at Kennedy’s Booster Fabrication Facility where the aft skirt and forward assembly 

hardware are being prepared for three additional Artemis missions.

NASA recently recognized Vaccaro’s work by awarding him a 2022 Outstanding Leadership Medal. Another reward was getting to 

see the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft up close as the stack rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building for the first time in March. 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/3EmeuoU
SPOTLIGHT

CHRIS BAKER

Chris is the subsystem manager for thrust 

vector control system on the SLS solid 

rocket boosters team.

Patience and attention to detail are traits that lead to great results, whether you’re solving a problem with a rocket’s propulsion 

system or waiting on just the right angle of sunlight for a photograph. Chris Baker knows this well. As the subsystem manager 

for the Space Launch System (SLS) Boosters Office thrust vector control (TVC) system, Baker leads the TVC efforts for both the 

heritage hardware boosters and the next-generation boosters. The TVC system steers the nozzle of each booster during the 

rocket’s first two minutes of flight.

The attention to detail Baker puts into his work for NASA also comes into play in his photography, one of his hobbies, which has 

won several awards.

Read more: go.nasa.gov/3Cwujb3
NASA’S SUPER GUPPY DELIVERS 

ROCKET TEST ARTICLE TO 

MARSHALL

ARTEMIS I

After performing triple duty in the Integrated Structural Test, testing at Lockheed Martin near Denver, and in modal testing in the 

Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy prior to preparation for Artemis I, the Orion stage adapter structural test article returned 

home to Marshall where it was manufactured. Teams at Marshall unloaded the Orion stage adapter structural test article from 

NASA’s Super Guppy cargo airplane Aug. 10. The 5-foot-tall, 18-foot-diameter test article is structurally identical to the flight 

version of the Orion stage adapter, which connects the rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage to the Orion spacecraft. The 

test article will be stored at Marshall, where it will continue to serve as an engineering resource.

The Super Guppy is capable of hauling loads of more than 48,000 pounds and boasts a cargo compartment 25 feet tall, 25 feet 

wide, and 111 feet long. Its unique, hinged nose can open to 110 degrees, allowing NASA teams to load and unload large hardware 

pieces and other oversized cargo from the front end of the craft. 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/3Cef7Pz

Teams at Marshall unload the Orion stage adapter structural test article from NASA’s Super Guppy cargo airplane Aug. 10, 2022.
ARTEMIS II ROCKET ENGINES 

ARRIVE AT NASA’S MICHOUD 

ASSEMBLY FACILITY

ARTEMIS II

In September, teams delivered the four RS-25 engines that will help power Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis 

missions and second flight of SLS, to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Later this year, the engines will be 

installed into the Artemis II core stage, which is in the final phase of assembly at Michoud, where it was manufactured. Trucks 

transported the engines in special containers from NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, where they were 

upgraded with new controllers.

Together, the four RS-25 engines will produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust during ascent to help send Artemis II astronauts 

beyond Earth’s orbit to a lunar flyby. Technicians from NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne, the prime contractor for the engines, will 

store the engines at Michoud and prepare them for integration into the engine section at the bottom of the rocket’s 212-foot core 

stage. Prior to engine installation, teams will use a pathfinder engine to practice the intricate process of installing each engine on 

the stage. 

Read more: go.nasa.gov/3y5Ln4Z

Teams deliver the four RS-25 engines that will help power Artemis II to Michoud Assembly Facility.
ARTEMIS I Q&A WITH NASA’S 

SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM MOON ROCKET EXPERT

WHAT’S NEW IN SLS SOCIAL MEDIA

SLS Associate Program Manager Dr. Sharon Cobb, right, joins SLS social media specialist Alyssa Lee for a Facebook Live prior to 

the first Artemis I launch attempt in August from Kennedy Space Center. Cobb and Lee discussed the anticipation surrounding the 

Artemis I launch and major milestones in the Artemis I mission. Watch here: go.nasa.gov/3yeZLrW

NEW VIEW OF 

SLS ENGINES 

GIMBALLING

A new video shows the RS-25 engines 

gimballing during the wet dress rehearsal 

test in June. The engines on SLS will move 

during flight to help steer the rocket and 

maintain a trajectory toward the Moon. 

Watch here: go.nasa.gov/3SY71A6
SLS ON THE ROAD

SLS Chief Engineer Dr. John Blevins, seated left, participated in a panel discussion on NASA’s Artemis initiative, SLS, and the 

Artemis I mission at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in July. Alongside Blevins on the panel were retired NASA astronauts 

Doug Hurley and Karen Nyberg, seated center and right respectively. SLS Communications Strategist Will Bryan moderated the 

discussion, which was attended by 300 people and livestreamed. 

SLS communication strategists Whitney 

Sheppard and Twila Schneider spoke 

to students attending the International 

Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) 

Smartforce Student Summit in Chicago in 

September about SLS and Artemis.
SPACEFLIGHT 

PARTNERS: 

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& Cleaning 

Company, Inc. (PFC)

LOCATION: Cocoa, Florida

WHAT THEY DO FOR SLS:

Precision Fabricating & Cleaning Company, 

Inc. (PFC) has been in business for more 

than 50 years supporting America’s space 

program, from the early Apollo and Gemini 

days, throughout the Space Shuttle 

Program, and now to the Moon and 

beyond. As part of its continued support, 

PFC is building a variety of ground support 

equipment in Cocoa, Florida. Spaceflight 

requires unique and complex fabricating 

and precision cleaning skills, tasks, 

processes, and equipment that PFC has 

experience providing to NASA.

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