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All major structures that will form the core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the agency’s Artemis III mission are structurally complete. Technicians finished welding the 51-foot liquid oxygen tank frame, left, inside the vertical assembly building at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Jan. 8. The liquid hydrogen tank, on the right, completed internal cleaning on November 14. Credit: NASA/Michael democker
While NASA works to develop all the systems necessary to return astronauts to the Moon within the framework of its Artemis campaign for the benefit of all, the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket will be responsible for launching the astronauts on their journey. With the liquid oxygen tank now fully welded, all of the major structures that will form the core stage of the SLS rocket for the agency’s Artemis III mission are ready for additional equipment.
The hardware will be part of the rocket used for the first of the Artemis missions that plan to take astronauts to the moon’s surface near the lunar South Pole. Technicians finished welding the structure of the 51-foot liquid oxygen tank inside the Vertical Assembly Building at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on January 8.
The megarocket’s other giant propellant tank, the liquid hydrogen tank, is already a fully welded structure. NASA and Boeing, the prime contractor for the SLS core stage, are currently priming the tank in another cell within the Vertical Assembly Building area called Building 131, cryogenic tank thermal protection system and primer application complex. Completed internal cleanup on November 14.
Hardware manufacturing is a multi-step process that includes welding, washing, and then equipping the hardware. The internal cleaning process is similar to a shower to ensure contaminants do not reach the stage’s complex propulsion and engine systems prior to priming.
Once internal cleaning is complete, primer is applied to the external parts of the gun section and tank domes using an automated robotic tool. After priming, technicians apply a foam-based thermal protection system to protect it from the extreme temperatures it will face during launch and flight, while regulating the super-cold propellant within.
“NASA and its partners are processing important hardware elements at Michoud for multiple SLS rockets in parallel to support the agency’s Artemis campaign,” said Chad Bryant, acting director of NASA’s SLS Program Stage Office. “With the Artemis II core stage nearing completion, the major structural elements of the SLS core stage for Artemis III will advance through production at the factory.”
The rocket’s two massive propellant tanks together contain more than 733,000 gallons of supercold propellant. The propellant powers the four RS-25 engines and must remain extremely cold to remain liquid.
The core stage, along with RS-25 engines, will produce two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and onto the lunar surface to Artemis III. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts and supplies to the moon in a single launch.