The pieces are stacking up for the launch of Artemis 1 mission around the
Moon and back. The massive Space Launch Systems (SLS) rocket that will
launch the first crewless test flight of the Orion spacecraft, powered by
the European Service Module, is being integrated at the Vehicle Assembly
Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
Visible in this image are the twin solid fuel rocket boosters, now fully
stacked atop the mobile launcher. The boosters will be mated with the
rocket’s 65 m tall core stage that recently barged in to Florida aboard the
Pegasus barge on April 27 after successful testing at NASA’s Stennis Space
Center in Mississippi.
Once the rocket stages are ready to go, the Orion spacecraft and additional
flight hardware are next up for integration.
Since our last Orion and the European Service Module update for Artemis I,
the spacecraft has moved, from the NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Neil
Armstrong Operations and Checkout facility, a few kilometers down the road
to the Multi Payload Processing Facility. The names of these buildings give
the game away. The first Orion spacecraft has been checked out and is ready
for the next step on the road to space: processing for launch.
Fuelling was completed on 1 April, after which the system will be serviced
in high pressure helium that serves as a pressurization agent to the
European Service Module propellant tanks, ensuring the correct pressure at
the engine inlets.
Eventually, the spacecraft will be hoisted to the top of the fully stacked
SLS rocket.
The European Service Module is ESA’s contribution to NASA’s Orion spacecraft
that will send astronauts, including the first European, to the Moon and
beyond.
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