The Orion spacecraft that will fly to the Moon on NASA’s Artemis 1 mission was lifted atop its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on October 20, completing major assembly of the full vehicle stack.

NASA's Orion spacecraft has successfully completed one of the key maneuvers of its maiden journey: a flyby of the moon during which it got as close as 81 miles to the lunar surface.

It consists of a multistage rocket called the Space Launch System (SLS), which can carry various additional modules atop it, such as the Orion crew vehicle that houses astronauts during flight.

The goal of the Artemis 1 mission is to verify the SLS's performance, test the solar-powered Orion crew capsule in deep space and confirm its 16.5-foot-wide heat shield will protect the ship ...

The Artemis I rocket sits on Launch Pad 39-B ahead of sunrise on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022 ahead awaiting its first launch attempt on Aug. 29. The Artemis I rocket sits on Launch Pad 39-B ahead of ...

NASA's ambitious 21st century lunar campaign requires powerful and advanced space hardware in the SLS mega-rocket, including its boosters and core stage, and the high-tech crew vehicle called Orion.

On Aug. 29, NASA will launch Artemis 1 with the goal of exploring the moon and beyond. Artemis 1 is a crewless mission designed to test the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion Crew Vehicle before ...

For the first lunar landing mission, called Artemis III, the SLS will launch four astronauts on Nasa’s Orion crew capsule. Orion will then travel to the Moon. Once in lunar orbit, Orion will dock with ...

NASA's Artemis I Space Launch System rocket is readied inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in March 2022. The SLS will launch from Pad 39-B on a mission to the moon.

Artemis III is planned to launch four astronauts in the Orion spacecraft atop NASA's SLS no earlier than mid-2027. The crew will then meet with a SpaceX Starship in lunar orbit, and two astronauts ...

By eventually eliminating the SLS rocket and Orion, officials suggest an annual savings of $879 million. To date, NASA's SLS has launched once on an uncrewed mission back in late 2022.