NASA integrated the Artemis III Space Launch System (SLS) core stage with its twin solid rocket boosters inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to the agency. NASA said the work took place in High Bay 3.
The integration prepares the rocket for a tanking test and countdown rehearsal and supports a mission that will carry four astronauts in Orion. NASA said Artemis III will test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft from Blue Origin and SpaceX ahead of a future mission to land astronauts on the Moon.
NASA described a sequence of steps leading to the current configuration. The agency said technicians lifted the 212-foot core stage from High Bay 2 using a one-of-a kind lifting beam designed to place the stage onto the mobile launcher. NASA also released images showing the core stage lifted from the transfer aisle on Oct. 22, positioned horizontally in the transfer aisle on Oct. 23, and integrated alongside the twin solid rocket booster motor segments on Oct. 25 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, completing its short stack configuration. The agency said the core stage was integrated alongside the boosters on Oct. 28 in High Bay 3.
Once testing and checkouts are complete, NASA said teams will roll the core stage and booster stack to Launch Pad 39B. There, launch teams will conduct a tanking test in which liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen will be loaded only into the core stage. NASA said the exercise will allow teams to practice countdown procedures and timelines.
NASA said Artemis III will launch NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, and Andre Douglas, along with European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, in the Orion spacecraft atop the SLS rocket. The agency did not provide a launch date in this update.