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Nov 7, 2024 | 
nasaspaceflight.com | Philip Sloss
1 NASA and Space Launch System core stage prime contractor Boeing are working to finish activating new production facilities at the Kennedy Space Center, to complete and deliver the next two units by the end of 2026.
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Jul 20, 2024 | 
nasaspaceflight.com | Philip Sloss
2Prime contractor Boeing rolled out the second Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage on July 16 from the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) and secured it to NASA’s Pegasus barge for transportation to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida over the next several days. The stage will control the beginning of the Artemis II mission that will send a four-person crew on an Orion spacecraft on a lunar flyby; the question now is when that mission will happen.
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May 23, 2024 | 
nasaspaceflight.com | Philip Sloss
1The two elements that will make up the initial Gateway capability for NASA’s Artemis campaign are getting ready for systems installations this year and next year, as the space agency reviews progress to set a new launch date. The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and Habitation and Logistics Module (HALO) are being constructed on different continents for eventual launch together as the Gateway’s co-manifested vehicle (CMV).
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Apr 2, 2024 | 
nasaspaceflight.com | Philip Sloss
1NASA is working with Orion spacecraft prime contractor Lockheed Martin to resolve a handful of issues that came up late last year during ground testing, forcing the space agency to delay the launch readiness target date for its Artemis II circumlunar mission to September 2025.
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Feb 3, 2024 | 
nasaspaceflight.com | Philip Sloss
1At the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program continues to prepare for the Artemis II circumlunar mission that was recently delayed to September 2025. EGS is finishing certification of new ground systems to support crewed launches of the agency’s Orion spacecraft with its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket beginning with Artemis II.
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Jan 19, 2024 | 
nasaspaceflight.com | Philip Sloss
1As NASA pushes out the schedule for Artemis II and III, development of the first major upgrade to the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is moving into qualification. SLS Stages prime contractor Boeing is activating production areas for the new Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans in parallel with refining assembly and outfitting techniques for the stage.
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Dec 19, 2023 | 
nasaspaceflight.com | Philip Sloss
5This week nearly saw two secret spaceplanes launched within days of each other. After ground systems concerns and then weather delays, the US Department of Defense’s X-37B vehicle had its OTV-7 launch on the Falcon Heavy USSF-52 mission scrubbed from its initial planned attempt on Dec. 11. Starlink Group 6-34 was also scrubbed that same day and again a day later due to high-level ground winds, during what turned out to be quite a volatile week for planned launches.
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Dec 7, 2023 | 
nasaspaceflight.com | Philip Sloss
1As Boeing nears completing final assembly of NASA’s second Space Launch System (SLS) core stage at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, the space agency’s prime contractor for SLS stages is continuing production of hardware for the next two units. The core stage for Artemis II is the last one that will be completed at MAF, with future builds now planned to undergo final construction at their launch site, the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.
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Oct 28, 2023 | 
nasaspaceflight.com | Philip Sloss
4Following a cost-saving summer slowdown, NASA Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage prime contractor Boeing is again working two shifts a day at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans to complete final testing and checkout of the unit that will help send NASA astronauts back to the Moon on the Artemis II mission.
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Oct 10, 2023 | 
nasaspaceflight.com | Philip Sloss
2NASA is now planning for the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage assigned to the Artemis II lunar flyby mission to be completed in mid-December for subsequent delivery to its Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch site. The four RS-25 core stage engines were installed in the stage in September at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, and work is moving towards testing and checkout of the stage to complete final assembly.
