Artemis III RS-25 Engine Processing at KSC

Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida offload the first of four RS-25 SLS (Space Launch System) rocket engines for the agency's Artemis III mission on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, inside the center’s Vehicle Assembly Building. The SLS rocket will use four RS-25 engines in the core stage to propel the Orion spacecraft into orbit providing over two million pounds of thrust at liftoff. As part of the Golden Age of innovation and exploration, NASA will send Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, establish an enduring human presence on the lunar surface, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.