Crews with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs stacked the launch vehicle stage adapter atop the core stage June 22 at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the Artemis I mission, the first integrated flight test of SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft. The 30-foot-tall, cone-shaped piece of hardware connects the SLS rocket’s upper and lower propulsion stages. The adapter also houses the RL10 engine that powers the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage that will send Orion on a precise trajectory to the Moon.
Image credit: NASA