Key Arrivals to be Used in Several Future Artemis Launches

In a span of two days, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center took deliveries of essential hardware for three upcoming Artemis missions.

On September 3, 2024, the European Service Module for NASA’s Artemis III mission arrived at Port Canaveral, Florida. This module, transported aboard the Canopée cargo ship, was built by Airbus and 10 European/U.S. contributors. It is a crucial piece of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, providing propulsion, thermal control, electrical power, water, and oxygen for the crew.

Upon its arrival, a truck transported the European Service Module to NASA Kennedy. It will be integrated with the Artemis III Crew Module Adapter, which facilitates communication, power, and control between the crew and service modules.

Two days later, on September 5, NASA’s well-known Pegasus barge arrived at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B Turn Basin. It carried hardware for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, including the Artemis II launch vehicle stage adapter, the "boat-tail" for the Artemis III core stage, and the core stage engine section for Artemis IV.

The Artemis II launch vehicle stage adapter, which connects the core to the upper stage and protects systems during launch, will be relocated to the Vehicle Assembly Building for preparation. The boat-tail, which safeguards the bottom of the SLS core stage and its engines, will be assembled with the Artemis III core stage engine section at the Space Systems Processing Facility. The Artemis IV SLS core stage engine section will soon join this pair ahead of final assembly. 

Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Moon to Mars Program, stated: “Seeing multi-mission hardware arrive at the same time demonstrates the progress we are making on our Artemis missions. We are going to the Moon together with our industry and international partners and we are manufacturing, assembling, building, and integrating elements for Artemis flights.”

The Artemis program is a pivotal advancement for NASA, aiming to land the first woman, first person of color, and an international partner astronaut on the Moon, opening a pathway for future space exploration.

FMI: www.nasa.gov