BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — We are nearing the launch of Artemis II, and the Space Launch System is the foundation of NASA’s return to the moon program.
What You Need To Know
Artemis II is the foundation of NASA’s return to the moon program
The rocket’s development began in 2011 to replace the retiring Space Shuttle program
Twin solid rocket boosters and 4 RS-25 engines serves as the main propulsion system
The rocket’s development began in 2011 to replace the retiring Space Shuttle program. The focus is to return Americans to the moon for the first time since 1972 during the Apollo missions, and to stay by building a permanent moon base.
The more than 300-foot tall SLS is a combination of shuttle-era components.
Twin solid rocket boosters and 4 RS-25 engines serves as the main propulsion system, providing 25% of the vehicle’s 8.8 million pounds of liftoff thrust, sending the crewed Orion capsule on its 10-day mission to the moon and back.
It is touted as the only rocket capable of sending the capsule, crew and cargo to the moon in a single launch.
“You can go up to the 274-foot level where the crew access arm and the white room are, and you can look down on this behemoth beneath you, it’s already 3.5 million pounds, sitting unfueled, and you can see all that hardware, all the elements are there, and it’s just waiting for it’s crew,” says Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman.
“We are doing this to fulfill a promise, a promise to the American people that we will return to the moon, a promise to all of the pioneers, the engineers, the scientists, the astronauts, the researchers from the 1960s, that laid the foundation that we are standing upon right now,” says NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
Artemis I blasted off from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39B in November 2022.
NASA says it learned a lot from the mission, setting the table now for Artemis II.
And even though Artemis II is an operational mission, the team expects to learn even more to make future flights to the moon and beyond possible.