SLS picks up the pace, four vehicles in production

Date:
Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:11:01 +0000

Description:
The NASA and contractor workforce continues to make progress ahead of next years Artemis III The post SLS picks up the pace, four vehicles in production appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

The NASA and contractor workforce continues to make progress ahead of next years Artemis III mission, with Solid Rocket Booster stacking continuing, while RS-25 engines are being installed on Core Stage 3. This is taking place while Michoud and Marshall teams advance tanks, engine sections, adapters,
and long-lead parts for Artemis IV, V, and VI.

The overlapping production line is the clearest hardware sign yet of the higher SLS cadence NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has been pressing the agency to deliver.

Artemis III is currently set to launch no earlier than June 2027, with to fly Orion and a crew of four in Earth orbit to test the lunar modules with the spacecraft.

Booster stacking on Mobile Launcher 1 began in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building in July. The aft segments went onto the launcher around
July 13, followed by the right aft-center segment on August 12.

This was followed on August 20 with the sections that carry the NASA worm logo, leaving two motor segments remain on each booster. The nosecones and forward skirts that will cap the stacks are already inside the VAB.

In High Bay 2, Core Stage 3 is further along. The tank section arrived from New Orleans in the spring and was mated to the engine section shortly afterward. Teams have now started installing the four RS-25 engines. The latest images show at least Engines 2 and 3 in the engine section, with the other two expected to follow.

At the Operations and Checkout Building, teams completed umbilical
connections between the Artemis III Orion crew module and its European
Service Module, then powered the crew module through those umbilicals for the first time to confirm the electrical interface. At Marshall, work continues
on the spacer that will fly in place of the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage. Artemis III does not need an upper stage, so the spacer fills that
spot in the stack.

After welding the barrel a few weeks ago, teams added the forward ring that will connect the spacer to the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter. A second ring will be welded to the other end for the Orion Stage Adapter, which is being prepared in parallel. NASA intends to fly the structural test articles for both adapters on Artemis III and save the flight adapters for Artemis IV. The test articles have sat unused for years and need extra work. New photos show the Orion adapter still needs paint and insulation application before installation next year.

Later vehicles are moving at the same time. The Artemis IV liquid hydrogen tank after successful proof testing at Michoud. The test ended last month;
the imagery came out only this week, the usual NASA lag of updates to the media for this vehicle. The boattail section for that core stage arrived into Florida on Sunday after NASAs Pegasus barge was seen sailing into Port Canaveral on NSFs Space Coast Live cameras. Artemis IV SLS Core Stage
Boattail Section arriving. Again, a sign of SLS picking up the pace as instructed by Jared. https://t.co/2y8guyW0pi pic.twitter.com/ByALauT5NY

NSF NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) August 30, 2026



For Artemis V, NASA recently showed the engine section barrel being moved
into the Vertical Assembly Center at Michoud, where it will receive the ring that mates it to the liquid hydrogen tank.

The engine section is the most complex part of the core stage and remains furthest ahead in production. NASA has also begun work on Core Stage 6 hardware.

Officially, the agency is still supposed to shift to commercial vehicles
after Artemis V, so Artemis VI parts send a mixed signal. The piece now in work is a connecting ring that would later be welded to Core Stage 6s engine section if that vehicle is completed. It may be long-lead manufacturing for a backup if commercial systems are not ready.

Whether the hardware goes all the way through production is still unclear. What is no longer in doubt is that SLS hardware for Artemis III through VI is now in simultaneous flow.

Featured Image: RS-25 installation in the VAB (Credit: NASA).



The post SLS picks up the pace, four vehicles in production appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/08/sls-pace-four-vehicles-production/


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