NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) program and prime Core Stage contractor Boeing wrapped up the Green Run testing campaign on the Artemis 1 flight article at the Stennis Space Center and are readying the vehicle for its long-awaited shipment to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. After reviewing the performance of the vehicle from its second test-firing in mid-March, NASA and Boeing agreed that the stage could be reconfigured from testing to launch.
While refurbishment activities continue, the team at Stennis has also started disconnecting the stage from the test stand to prepare for departure from Stennis. Weather will be a key factor in when the stage can be put on board the agency’s Pegasus barge to start the waterway tow trip from Stennis to Kennedy, but a late-April arrival at KSC is still possible — with KSC schedules currently forecasting attachment of the Core Stage to the SLS Boosters in the Vehicle Assembly Building in mid-May to prepare for launch of Artemis 1.