NASA Michoud Crews Attach Third RS-25 Engine to Artemis I Rocket Stage

This photo shows the third of four RS-25 engines attached to the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for the agency’s Artemis I mission to the Moon. NASA, Boeing and Aerojet Rocketdyne crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans attached the third RS-25 engine to the core stage for the SLS rocket on Nov. 5. The engine is one of four RS-25 engines that will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send Artemis I, the first mission of SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, to the Moon. The first two RS-25 engines were structurally mated to the stage in October. Following the mate, engineers and technicians will integrate the propulsion and electrical systems within the structures to complete the installation. Integration of the RS-25 engines to the recently completed core stage structure is a collaborative, multistep process for NASA and its partners Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, and Aerojet Rocketdyne, the RS-25 engines lead contractor. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit and Orion, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.