CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Most of the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System for Artemis III has been transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, signifying a significant milestone as the agency advances toward deep space exploration.
We were there as the massive stage was offloaded from the Pegasus Barge and moved into the Vehicle Assembly Building. Elkin Norena NASA’s SLS Resident Office Manager says the focus now shifts to integration and testing.
“What we’ll be doing with the core stage, first this week we’ll be lifting it up and over into the high bay to get it integrated with the engine section,” Norena said. He said after that the engineers will be checking it out, getting it all prepped before it gets turned over to operations and integrated with the boosters and the rest of the vehicle parts.
Artemis III, currently planned for 2027, is designed to test key docking maneuvers in lunar orbit between the Orion spacecraft and commercial lunar landers. The crewed mission will help pave the way for Artemis IV—NASA’s next planned Moon landing with astronauts. However, questions remain about whether commercial landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin will be ready in time.
Space analyst Keith Cowing says delays in those systems could impact the timeline. Norena remains confident in the current schedule, saying the team is on track for next year’s major milestones as stacking work is expected to ramp up later this summer.
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