After spending 10 days at Launch Pad 39B, a mobile launcher, towering nearly 400 feet, trekked to the Vehicle Assembly Building where it will remain until launch of Artemis I.
While at the pad, engineers and technicians with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) and contractor Jacobs validated the launch team’s countdown timeline by conducting a series of tests on pad equipment just like they would on launch day. Additionally, a thorough, top-to-bottom wash down of the mobile launcher was completed to remove any debris that may have been on the launcher from previous tests and operations.
Up next, the EGS team will prep the mobile launcher for Artemis I booster stacking, scheduled to begin later this month. Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Under the Artemis Program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett