Late last month, Boeing began delivery of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket cryogenic core stage to NASA in preparation for launch of the Artemis I mission, the first Moon mission in nearly 50 years. Boeing refurbished the stage after it successfully completed hot-fire testing in March at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, ‘closing out’ the ‘Green Run’ campaign on the B-2 test stand.

The flight hardware will be integrated (at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida) with the Orion crew spacecraft, ‘Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage’ upper stage and solid rocket boosters, in preparation for launch.

SLS will launch NASA’s Artemis I mission that will send an uncrewed Orion crew vehicle around the moon and back; this test flight will be followed by Artemis II, the first crewed lunar fly-by for the Artemis programme.

John Shannon, SLS vice president and programme manager for Boeing, said: “We thank NASA for their partnership as we deliver the first of the Artemis core stages that will launch a new era of human deep-space exploration.

“Boeing shares this achievement with the hundreds of companies and thousands of highly skilled workers who contribute to this programme and form the backbone of this industry.”

“Data from Green Run testing validated the core stage’s successful operation and will be used to help certify the stage for flight, as well as to inform our production system for future stages.”