NASA Engineers Complete Final Stacking for Artemis 2 Moon Mission
NASA has officially finished the physical assembly of the Artemis 2 launch vehicle at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the final structural milestone before the agency’s first crewed lunar mission in over five decades. Engineers in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building secured the Orion crew module, recently christened “Integrity,” atop the massive Space Launch System (SLS) core stage late Sunday evening. This integration event concludes a months-long stacking process that combines the 212-foot rocket stage with the spacecraft and its critical Launch Abort System, bringing the total vehicle height to 322 feet.
Following the mechanical mating, mission control teams successfully verified end-to-end communication links between the stacked vehicle and the Deep Space Network. These checks confirmed that the spacecraft’s avionics can transmit telemetry through the rocket’s hardware to ground stations in Goldstone, California, and Madrid, Spain. The verification process also included a “hard-line” data test with the Near Space Network, ensuring that the crew module can maintain contact during the initial ascent phase when the vehicle is traveling at speeds exceeding 17,500 miles per hour.
The focus now shifts to the upcoming “wet dress rehearsal,” a comprehensive simulation scheduled for next month that will see the fully stacked rocket rolled 4.2 miles to Launch Complex 39B. During this test, the launch team will load over 700,000 gallons of cryogenic liquid hydrogen and oxygen into the vehicle’s tanks to practice countdown procedures. The four-person crew, consisting of Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, will participate in the rehearsal, donning their survival suits and entering the capsule to simulate launch day operations up to the point of engine ignition.
Agency officials have reaffirmed the mission timeline, targeting a launch window no later than April 2026. The 10-day flight plan calls for the spacecraft to execute a hybrid free-return trajectory, slinging the crew approximately 6,400 miles beyond the far side of the Moon before using lunar gravity to return to Earth. This specific path allows for a safe return without requiring a major engine burn, a critical safety feature for the first crewed test of the hardware. The mission aims to validate the spacecraft’s life support systems and the heat shield’s performance during a high-velocity reentry at temperatures approaching 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
The completion of the Artemis 2 vehicle represents a pivotal moment for the program, which faces high scrutiny regarding its estimated $4.1 billion cost per launch. With the hardware now fully integrated, the path to the launchpad is clear of major assembly hurdles, leaving only system verification and environmental testing remaining. A successful mission in 2026 will clear the way for Artemis 3, which intends to land humans on the lunar south pole, a region believed to contain water ice that could sustain future long-duration exploration.
