NASA's SLS Space Rocket for the Artemis III Mission is Under Assembly at Kennedy Space Center

In early June, the crew of the Artemis III mission was officially announced, which will include Randolph Bresnik (commander), Luca Parmitano (pilot), Andre Douglas (mission specialist), and Frank Rubio (mission specialist), while Bob Hines will be the backup astronaut. Jared Isaacman (NASA administrator) and other agency executives stated their intention to proceed with a Wet Dress Rehearsal of NASA SLS by the end of the year while work on assembling the space rocket continues at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

According to reports, teams are quickly progressing with the assembly of the flight hardware in preparation for the upcoming crewed mission, Artemis III (which will be in low Earth orbit to test the two lunar landers), scheduled no earlier than mid-2027. Less than three months after the safe return of the Artemis II crew, assembly of the segments of the two solid rocket boosters of the Space Launch System began in July within the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

NASA SLS Space Rocket for Artemis III is Under Construction

As with the previous two launches, the lower segments of the two side boosters have been positioned, while the remaining segments were transported by train to Kennedy Space Center in June. They will now be inspected, and the completion of their construction will take place at the Rotation, Processing, and Surge Facility of KSC. Once these phases are completed, teams will transport each segment from the processing facility to the VAB for assembly over the Mobile Launcher Platform (ML), which has undergone repairs after the launch of Artemis II, although there was a significant reduction in damage compared to Artemis I.

Meanwhile, work continues inside the VAB on the core stage of NASA SLS. In May, part of the stage section was joined with the lower engine section. The first two RS-25 engines arrived at the VAB in June, and the arrival of the other two (derived from the Space Shuttle's orbiter) is awaited to begin integration.

The mission control team has also started countdown simulations inside the Launch Control Center. Although the hardware for Artemis III is not yet actually assembled, the exercise includes propellant loading procedures. These procedures will be practiced over the next few months, leading up to the actual launch of the mission.

In recent days, technicians have installed thermal shielding on the Orion capsule that will be used during the Artemis III mission. This is a process that requires utmost attention, as it is a crucial element for the safe reentry of astronauts. The thermal shield of Orion consists of 186 Avcoat blocks (ablative material). Updated designs of the thermal shield have been introduced for this mission to enhance its performance during the most challenging phases of reentry.

The European service module recently completed acoustic tests simulating launch conditions. In the coming weeks, the capsule and the service module will be assembled in preparation to be placed atop the Space Launch System later in the year.