United Launch Alliance (ULA) delivered the last-ever Space Launch System (SLS) Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) from its Decatur, Alabama, factory to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in early August for eventual use on the Artemis III lunar landing mission. ICPS-3 was also the last Delta hardware to depart Decatur and will support NASA’s third and final launch of the SLS Block 1 rocket before it is upgraded to the Block 1B configuration beginning on Artemis IV.
The SLS in-space stage will remain mostly in storage at ULA’s CCSFS facilities until NASA is ready to fly Artemis III; the mission is aspirationally targeted for the end of 2025 but is not expected until 2026 at the earliest and could possibly fly later than that. In the meantime, ULA and SLS teams will make final preparations for ICPS-2 to be stacked for the Artemis II circumlunar test flight next year; that stage is fully outfitted and ready to be formally turned over from ULA when NASA Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) needs it.