Apr 30, 2026

Teams move the core stage, or largest section, of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis III mission into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in this photo from April 27, 2026.

The SLS core stage traveled 900 miles on the Pegasus barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the stage is manufactured, to complete assembly of the massive rocket at NASA Kennedy. 

This mission will launch crew aboard the Orion spacecraft on top of the SLS rocket to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon.

Image credit: NASA/Glenn Benson