Artemis III Forward Skirt Lifted for Forward Join Mating

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the forward skirt for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage via an overhead crane system and sit it atop the previously mated intertank and liquid oxygen tank on Dec. 5, 2025. Teams with Boeing – NASA’s Prime Contractor for SLS – will mate the forward skirt to the forward end of the liquid oxygen tank to complete forward join operations for the core stage of the agency’s Artemis III mission. The forward skirt houses flight computers, cameras and avionics systems, and is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.    Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker