Artemis III core stage moves from Michoud to Pegasus barge.

NASA moved the top four-fifths of the SLS core stage from the Michoud Assembly Facility onto the Pegasus barge on April 20 for shipment to Kennedy Space Center; teams will complete outfitting and vertical integration ahead of the Artemis III mission currently planned for 2027.

NASA moved the top four-fifths of the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage for Artemis III from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans onto the agency's Pegasus barge on April 20. The hardware is headed to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for final outfitting and integration. This rollout follows the recent Artemis II test flight and is part of preparations for the crewed Artemis III mission planned for 2027. The moved section contains the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks, the intertank, and the forward skirt. Key details: - The transported portion is the top four-fifths of the SLS core stage; the completed core stage will be joined with its engine section and measure about 212 feet tall. - The two propellant tanks together hold more than 733,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant to feed four RS-25 engines during flight. - During launch, the integrated core stage is expected to operate for more than eight minutes and produce over 2 million pounds of thrust to lift Orion and its crew into orbit. - Boeing leads design and assembly of the core stage while L3Harris supplies the RS-25 engines. - After arrival at Kennedy, teams will finish stage outfitting and vertical integration, and the Exploration Ground Systems Program will stack the rocket's components in preparation for later testing and launch activities. Summary: The rollout marks tangible progress in preparing hardware for the Artemis III mission and continues the SLS production and integration sequence. Final outfitting and vertical integration at Kennedy Space Center are the next scheduled steps, followed by vehicle stacking and later test activities ahead of the planned 2027 launch.