pace Launch System Resource Reel – August 2023

This resource reel shows major milestones for NASA’s mega Moon rocket, the SLS (Space Launch System). Following its debut flight with the launch of Artemis I in November 2022, NASA and its partners across the country continue to make progress building, assembling, and testing hardware for SLS rockets that will power the first crewed Artemis missions with Artemis II, III, and IV. Video highlights include: Artemis I launch footage; core stage production for Artemis II and III at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans; flight software testing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; launch vehicle stage adapter production for Artemis II and III also at Marshall; shipment and delivery footage of the ICPS (interim cryogenic propulsion system) for Artemis III; and, propulsion testing of the solid rocket boosters and RS-25 engines for future SLS flights. Also included is video of early production of the EUS (Exploration Upper Stage), which will provide in-space propulsion for the rocket in its Block 1B configuration beginning with Artemis IV.

NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. 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.