NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine briefs media on the status of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis missions to the Moon at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans Thursday, August 15, 2019. Michoud is manufacturing the core stage, the powerhouse of the SLS rocket, that will produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to launch the Artemis missions beyond Earth’s orbit. Bridenstine, joined by Robert Champion, director of Michoud, and Paul McConnaughey, deputy director of Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, toured the Louisiana facility to see the latest manufacturing progress for the first and second Artemis missions. Artemis 1 will be an uncrewed test flight; Artemis 2 will be with crew. The core stage for Artemis 1 is almost complete and remains on schedule for completion by the end of the year. Engineers with NASA and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, are preparing to add the final section to the core stage of the rocket.
NASA is working to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.
Image Credit: NASA/Jude Guidry