The core stage arrived at NASA Kennedy on July 23, where it remained horizontal within the facility’s transfer corridor. With the move to High Bay 2, NASA and Boeing technicians now have 360-degree access to the core stage, both internally and externally. The move also frees up more space in the transfer aisle to allow technicians to transport and integrate two solid rocket boosters onto Mobile Launcher 1 in High Bay 3. Artemis II Mission Boeing and its subcontractor Futuramic refurbished High Bay 2 to increase efficiency during processing of core stages for Artemis II and beyond.
During Apollo, technicians stacked the Saturn V rocket in high bay 2. During the space shuttle program, the high bay was used for external tank checkout and storage and as an emergency storage area for the shuttle. The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first crewed mission as part of the Artemis campaign, carrying NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Reid Wiseman, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day journey. Will be dispatched. The moon and back.
Image credit: NASA/Adeline Morgan