Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Space
  3. Space News

NASA photos show Orion capsule atop its mega moon rocket

By

NASA has taken a big step toward the launch of the Artemis I moon mission after placing the Orion crew capsule atop the mighty SLS rocket.

The delicate operation was carried out on Wednesday, October 20, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Recommended Videos

“One step closer,” the space agency said in a tweet together with a video showing the the capsule at the top of the rocket. “Orion was lifted and placed atop SLS for the Artemis I mission inside of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Work is currently underway to fully secure the spacecraft to the rocket.”

Please enable Javascript to view this content

ONE STEP CLOSER ➡️ Yesterday, @NASA_Orion was lifted and placed atop @NASA_SLS for the #Artemis I mission inside of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Work is currently underway to fully secure the spacecraft to the rocket. Check out the full video: https://t.co/8bCuyJ89pF pic.twitter.com/zLTGctqGS6

— NASA's Kennedy Space Center (@NASAKennedy) October 21, 2021

NASA also posted a set of photos showing Orion in place atop the rocket.

More photos showing the @NASA_Orion spacecraft for the @NASAArtemis I mission, fully assembled with its launch abort system, being lowered on top of the @NASA_SLS rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at @NASAKennedy in Florida on Oct. 20, 2021. pic.twitter.com/uogRdFac8H

— NASA's Exploration Ground Systems (@NASAGroundSys) October 21, 2021

The highly anticipated Artemis 1 mission is expected to take place early next year. The uncrewed test event will see Orion perform a flyby of the moon before returning to Earth.

Artemis II will follow a similar path but on that mission astronauts will fly aboard the Orion capsule.

Assuming both the rocket and spacecraft function as expected during the first two missions, Artemis III will take the first woman and first person of color to the lunar surface before returning the crew to Earth. NASA had stated a 2024 target date for Artemis III, but delays to the program caused by a variety of issues mean the date is likely to slip.

The fully stacked SLS rocket stands at 322 feet (98.1 meters), which, for context, makes it 17 feet (5.2 meters) taller than the Statue of Liberty.

When it launches from Cape Canaveral in Florida, the rocket’s three boosters will create 8.8 million pounds of thrust, which is 13% more than the space shuttle and 15% more than the Saturn V rocket that powered NASA’s first round of crewed missions to the moon five decades ago.

NASA’s SLS rocket has already undergone extensive ground-based testing. One of the most robust took place in March when engineers fired up the rocket’s core stage for more than eight minutes to simulate an actual launch. The Orion capsule has also undergone a slew of tests in preparation for its first mission in the coming months.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Another piece of NASA’s mega moon rocket ships out
Crews moved the cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter out of NASA Marshall’s Building 4708 to the agency’s Pegasus barge on August 21. The barge will ferry the adapter first to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, where it will pick up additional SLS hardware for future Artemis missions, and then travel to NASA Kennedy. In Florida, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will prepare the adapter for stacking and launch.

Even while NASA is struggling with Boeing's new crewed Starliner spacecraft, it is continuing work on another key piece of space infrastructure: its Space Launch System, or SLS rocket that is designed to carry astronauts to the moon and beyond. Parts of the new rocket are arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and now another key piece is on its ways: the launch vehicle stage adapter.

Standing at 322 feet tall when fully stacked, the SLS is NASA's most powerful rocket to date and has already been on a test flight around the moon as part of the Artemis I mission in 2022. Now, NASA is preparing for its first crewed flight using the rocket, which will be the Artemis II mission scheduled for September 2025. Unlike NASA's current woes with the Starliner spacecraft, which ferries astronauts between Earth and the International Space Station, the Artemis II mission will use a different spacecraft called the Orion.

Read more
NASA agreement with oil company BP could see its technology used on moon
An artist’s concept of an Artemis astronaut deploying an instrument on the lunar surface.

While its technology is most often used to drill for oil here on Earth, oil company BP has entered into an agreement with NASA that could see its technology used to drill for resources on the moon.

The agreement was announced this week, and says the company will work with NASA to "support common goals in space exploration and energy production." That involved sharing technology and technical expertise, particularly about how energy production can operate in extreme environments. This could be applicable to future NASA plans for exploration of the moon and Mars, both of which will require significant power generation.

Read more
NASA’s Space Launch System rocket arrives at Kennedy. Next stop: the moon
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building on July 23.

After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building on July 23. NASA/Isaac Watson

NASA's epic Space Launch System rocket, standing 322 feet tall when fully stacked, has recently been on an similarly epic journey -- traveling from New Orleans to Florida via barge. The rocket began its journey more than two weeks ago, and having covered more than 900 miles has now arrived safe at the Kennedy Space Center.

Read more