Artemis I Baton Handoff from EGS Ops to Launch Director

Cliff Lanham, fifth from the left, ground operations manager with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS), hands off the baton to Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis I launch director, inside the Vehicle Assembly building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 15, 2022. Also pictured are members of Kennedy’s EGS and Artemis launch teams. NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with the agency’s Orion spacecraft atop, is targeted to start its rollout to Launch Pad 39B on Aug. 16 at approximately 9 p.m., in preparation for the Artemis I launch – set for no earlier than Aug. 29. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of the SLS and Orion. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.