BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — NASA’s Pegasus barge, which was originally built to carry space shuttle parts, is now playing a critical role in the Artemis program.
Recently, the barge delivered most of the core stage for the Artemis III SLS rocket to Kennedy Space Center after a nearly week-long trip filled with careful planning.
Pegasus was lengthened to handle the massive Space Launch System hardware, making room for the largest cargo it has ever carried.
Artemis III will launch a crew into Earth orbit for a mission designed to demonstrate how the Orion spacecraft will operate with a commercial lunar lander, or landers.
Next up, the barge heads back to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, with another stop planned in June to pick up a telescope from Goddard Space Flight Center.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is expected to launch from Florida’s Space Coast as soon as September.
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