Media are invited to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, at 2 p.m. CDT Thursday, Aug. 14 to view the final piece of space flight hardware for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the Artemis II mission before it is delivered to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. All other elements of the SLS rocket for Artemis II are stacked on mobile launcher 1 in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy. Artemis II, NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, is currently scheduled for a 10-day trip around the Moon no later than April 2026.

The Orion stage adapter, built by NASA Marshall, connects the SLS rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage to NASA’s Orion spacecraft. The small ring structure is the topmost portion of the SLS rocket. The adapter will also carry small payloads, called CubeSats, to deep space.

Media will have the opportunity to capture images and video and speak to subject matter experts. Along with viewing the adapter for Artemis II, media will be able to see the Orion stage adapter for the Artemis III mission, the first lunar landing at the Moon’s South Pole.

This event is open to U.S. media, who must confirm their attendance by 12 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Aug. 13, with Jonathan Deal in Marshall’s Office of Communications at [email protected]. Media must also report by 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug.14 to the Redstone Arsenal Joint Visitor Control Center Gate 9 parking lot, located at the Interstate 565 interchange at Research Park Boulevard, to be escorted to the event.

Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

For more on SLS, visit: 

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/space-launch-system

Jonathan Deal
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 
256.631.9126
[email protected]