SLS Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage Prepared For Integration

The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) sits in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).
It was moved by teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, June 19, 2021. After being fueled and serviced inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF), the ICPS will be hoisted into place atop the SLS core stage while its Aerojet Rocketdyne-built RL-10 engine will be protected inside the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) on the mobile launcher in preparation for the launch of Artemis I.

The ICPS will provide Orion spacecraft with the push needed for its flight around the Moon. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test SLS and the Orion spacecraft as an integrated system prior to crewed flights in which NASA will land the first woman and person of color on the Moon.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-20210619-PH-KLS01_0143 Larger image