US EditionKennedy Space Center Gets Its Hands on Biggest Artemis III Puzzle Piece
The arrival completes most of the rocket’s core stage, and NASA says the mission will now test Orion and lunar lander docking in near-Earth orbit.
- On Monday, April 27, 2026, NASA's Artemis III core stage arrived at the Kennedy Space Center aboard the Pegasus barge, completing a 900-mile journey from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
- This hardware represents the top 80% of the Space Launch System rocket, and Boeing built the 212-foot-tall section to house liquid hydrogen and oxygen tanks holding more than 733,000 gallons of propellant.
- Teams will transport the core stage to the Vehicle Assembly Building today, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, where engineers will stack the engine section, solid rocket boosters, and Orion spacecraft for final assembly.
- Unlike previous lunar missions, Artemis III will remain in near-Earth orbit to test docking operations with SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon landers before attempting lunar surface landing.
- NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman restructured the Artemis program to "buy down risk" before lunar landings, targeting a sustainable launch cadence with Artemis IV aiming for early 2028 to return humans to the moon.
12 Articles
12 Articles
NASA’s Artemis III rocket, slated for 2027 mission, is rolled into the Kennedy Space Center
The largest rocket section for the Artemis III mission arrived in Florida by barge after traveling 900 miles, marking a significant milestone for a mission more than a year out.
The Columbian
Orlando SentinelKennedy Space Center gets its hands on biggest Artemis III puzzle piece
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A massive piece of NASA’s Artemis project floated into the Space Coast on Monday with the arrival of the biggest portion of the Space Launch System rocket for next year’s Artemi
NASA Artemis III SLS Rocket Core Stage Arrival at Kennedy Space Center
NASA Artemis III SLS Rocket Core Stage Arrival at Kennedy Space CenterNASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying the top four-fifths of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) core stage for the Artemis III mission, arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Complex 39 on Monday, April 27, 2026.NASA’s top four-fifths of the SLS core stage for the Artemis III mission was then offloaded from the Pegasus barge on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. The four-fifths contains th…
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