The final piece of NASA鈥檚 next moon rocket was unloaded Thursday at Kennedy Space Center ahead of an uncrewed launch to the moon and back later this year.
The core stage of NASA鈥檚 Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket arrived by barge earlier this week after undergoing testing in Mississippi.
The 212-foot tall, 188,000 pound booster will help lift NASA鈥檚 Orion space capsule, designed to take future human missions to the moon.
The two solid rocket boosters that help lift the massive rocket have already been assembled and the capsule is undergoing its final checkouts before mating with the rocket.
The arrival of the booster designed and built by Boeing is the last key piece for NASA鈥檚 Artemis program, the agency鈥檚 next moon shot.
鈥淚t means the last piece of the hardware is here at Kennedy,鈥� said Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell Thompson. 鈥淚t means that the next phase of integration is putting this rocket together. It鈥檚 a special day.
The booster now heads into the Vehicle Assembly Building for final check outs and integration with other elements of the rocket system before its planned launch, which could happen as early as the end of this year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really exciting,鈥� said Boeing engineer Kristine Ramos of the booster鈥檚 arrival at KSC. 鈥淲hen was the last time we had such a big rocket come through here that鈥檚 going back to the moon?鈥�
While this booster will fly an uncrewed mission, astronauts will soon follow. Artemis II will take humans on a trip around the moon and back ahead of Artemis III 鈥� the agency鈥檚 first human lunar landing since the end of the Apollo program in the 1970s.
Copyright 2021 WMFE. To see more, visit . 9(MDAyNDY5MjM1MDEyODE2MzMyMTZmZDQwMg001))
