Rocket Motors for First NASA Artemis Moon Mission Arrive at Spaceport

Twin rocket boosters for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) that will power Artemis missions to the Moon have arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two motor segments, each comprised of five segments, arrived at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on June 15, 2020, by train from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah. The booster segments will remain in the RPSF for inspection prior to processing until it’s time to move them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. This is the first piece of flight hardware to arrive at Kennedy by train for the Artemis program, but NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) can expect to receive additional hardware soon, including the Launch Vehicle Service Adapter and the rocket’s core stage. NASA is working toward an Artemis I launch date in 2021, keeping the program moving at the best possible pace toward the earliest possible opportunity.

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