Overview
- The SLS core stage for Artemis III, rolled out Monday from NASA’s Michoud facility to the Pegasus barge, is headed to Kennedy Space Center for outfitting, vertical lift, and stacking in the Vehicle Assembly Building.
- Standing 212 feet tall, the stage houses two tanks holding more than 733,000 gallons of super‑chilled liquid hydrogen and oxygen to feed four RS‑25 engines that will produce over 2 million pounds of thrust during an eight‑minute burn.
- Artemis III is targeted for 2027 as an orbital mission to launch Orion and test rendezvous and docking with commercial landers, a step NASA says is needed before planned lunar surface missions starting in 2028.
- Initial Artemis II reviews found Orion’s heat shield performed as expected with far less char loss than Artemis I, SLS placed the spacecraft on target, and pad hardening limited launch‑site damage, with teams also tracing a urine vent line issue for fixes before Artemis III.
- A NASA watchdog warned that lunar surface spacesuits may not be ready on the current timeline, and fact‑checkers flagged viral clips of Artemis II reentry as recycled Artemis I footage, underscoring schedule risks and misinformation around the program.