As NASA gears up the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the eagerly awaited Artemis I mission, its industry partners are constructing additional vehicles for follow-on flights aimed at returning humans to the Moon and beyond.
The U.S. is poised to land humans on the Moon for the first time since Apollo. NASA's Artemis program is driving this effort, with the SLS serving as its powerful new heavy-lift launcher. Currently undergoing rigorous testing in Florida, the SLS is set for its wet dress rehearsal, where fuel tanks will be loaded. Success here will clear the path for the landmark Artemis 1 launch.
For Artemis 1, the SLS will boost an uncrewed Orion spacecraft on a lunar orbit and safe return to Earth.
Keep in mind that this super-heavy launcher is expendable, requiring a new vehicle per mission. NASA, alongside roughly 1,000 U.S. companies, is already fabricating rockets for future flights.
“The SLS team isn't building just one rocket—we're preparing multiple vehicles for exploration missions and SLS flights beyond Artemis 1's debut,” states John Honeycutt, SLS program manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “Artemis 1 kicks off a progression of increasingly ambitious missions to establish a sustained presence on the Moon.”
The Intermediate Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS)—the uppermost stage that sends Orion to its destination—for Artemis II reached Florida in July. It's finalizing preparations at Boeing and United Launch Alliance (ULA) sites before shipment to NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
ULA is manufacturing the ICPS for Artemis III at its Decatur, Alabama facility. This mission targets the first human lunar landing since Apollo, likely in 2025.
Solid rocket boosters and RS-25 engines—the SLS's core propulsion—for Artemis II and III are nearing completion. In Utah, Northrop Grumman, the booster lead, has finished casting all segments for Artemis II and III, and started on Artemis IV.
Aerojet Rocketdyne has produced RS-25 engines for the two SLS flights post-Artemis 1. Artemis II engines are ready for NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans for core stage integration. Artemis III engines are under test at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, with units for missions IV, V, and VI in production.
Boeing assembles each SLS core stage in New Orleans. Artemis 1's is complete; II, III, and IV are in assembly.
