The Rise of Artemis: NASA’s Towering New Launcher Takes Its First Stand

NASA advances the Artemis program with the setup of the mobile launcher 2 at Kennedy Space Center, essential for launching the next-generation SLS rockets aimed at lunar and Mars missions.

At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the foundation is set for launching crewed missions aboard the agency’s larger and more powerful SLS (Space Launch System) Block 1B rocket in support of Artemis IV and future missions. On May 9, 2024, teams with NASA’s EGS (Exploration Ground Systems) Program and contractor Bechtel National Inc. transferred the primary base structure of the mobile launcher 2 to its permanent mount mechanisms using the spaceport’s beast-mode transporter – the crawler.