Checking Out The SLS Core Stage Inter-tank Umbilical

The core stage inter-tank umbilical – one of multiple connections on the mobile launcher that will provide power, communications, and pressurized gases to the rocket – is attached to the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 12, 2021.
Before the Orion spacecraft can be stacked atop the SLS, teams are conducting various tests to ensure the rocket can properly communicate with the ground systems equipment that will be used for launch. The first in an increasingly complex set of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will send the first woman and the first person of color to the lunar surface, as well as establish a sustainable presence on and around the Moon.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-20210812-PH-KLS02_0011 larger image