Science and Exploration

Final Stacking Of The Artemis 1 SLS

By Keith Cowing
Press Release
October 20, 2021
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Final Stacking Of The Artemis 1 SLS
Artemis 1 Stacking
NASA

Final stacking operations for NASA’s mega-Moon rocket are underway inside the Vehicle Assembly Building
The Orion spacecraft is being lifted onto the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the Artemis I mission. Engineers and technicians with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) and Jacobs attached the spacecraft to one of the five overhead cranes inside the building and began lifting it a little after midnight EDT.

Next, teams will slowly lower it onto the fully stacked SLS rocket and connect it to the Orion Stage Adapter. This will require the EGS team to align the spacecraft perfectly with the adapter before gently attaching the two together. This operation will take several hours to make sure Orion is securely in place.

SpaceRef co-founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.