en.Wedoany.com Reported - NASA stated in a post that a solid fuel booster segment for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket used in the next Artemis mission has arrived at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with rocket assembly set to begin. The crew will later fly aboard the Orion spacecraft to test rendezvous and docking capabilities needed for future lunar landings.

For the Artemis II mission, NASA took about a year to stack the SLS rocket components after they arrived at the VAB. The same timeline provides some flexibility for the Artemis III mission, which is targeting a launch in mid-to-late 2027, though full stacking of the rocket may not begin immediately.

The SLS core stage for Artemis III arrived at the VAB in May. Unlike the core stage for Artemis II, this one arrived without the engine section installed. Once the engine section is attached, it may take some time before other components are stacked onto the main body. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated that the agency aims to complete a wet dress rehearsal of the rocket by the end of the year. Meanwhile, other SLS components and Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) segments will continue to arrive at the VAB.

Each SRB is approximately 177 feet (54 meters) tall and loaded with polybutadiene acrylonitrile (PBAN), ammonium perchlorate, and aluminum powder, with a total weight of 3.2 million pounds (1.45 million kilograms). Unlike liquid-fueled rocket engines, the solid propellant in SRBs cannot be shut down once ignited. Without the SRBs, the four RS-25 engines on the SLS core stage would not provide enough thrust to lift the rocket off the launch pad.

Artemis III will be the second crewed mission of the Artemis program, aimed at returning astronauts to the Moon. The mission itself will not actually fly to the Moon but will advance the development of hardware and spacecraft technologies needed by NASA to ensure the success of future lunar surface missions. Similar to Artemis II (which completed a 10-day lunar flyby with four astronauts in April), the crew will launch aboard the Orion spacecraft atop the SLS rocket, but this time they will not leave low Earth orbit. The four crew members will spend about two weeks testing rendezvous and docking procedures with two Artemis lunar lander prototypes, both contracted by NASA through commercial agreements.

NASA has partnered with SpaceX and Blue Origin to develop these landers, each expected to launch after the Artemis III crew enters orbit. The crew will first rendezvous with Blue Origin's lander, Blue Moon. After docking, astronauts will have the opportunity to enter the Blue Moon crew cabin and test some Artemis extravehicular activity (EVA) suits, designed for astronauts to wear on the lunar surface.

After Orion docks with Blue Moon, it will rendezvous with SpaceX's Starship. SpaceX stated that it will launch an experimental Starship Version 3 (V3) vehicle equipped with a docking adapter, but the vehicle will have no crew cabin. The V3 is the latest version of SpaceX's Starship, upgraded for high launch efficiency and capacity, but it will lack fully developed life support systems before the Artemis III launch next year. If all goes according to plan and NASA maintains the current mission timeline, the first lunar landing of the Artemis program will occur during the Artemis IV mission, targeted for launch in late 2028.