NEW ORLEANS – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said it is planning on landing the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024. To reach that goal, it has been overseeing construction of what it describes as the most powerful rocket in the world at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. This month, teams at Michoud will transport the “core stage” of the Space Launch System rocket on a barge to NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss. Once at Stennis, it will be tested to confirm it is fit for flight ahead of any eventual trips into space.
NASA said the Space Launch System core stage includes “four “RS-25 engines … state-of-the-art avionics, propulsion systems and two colossal propellant tanks that collectively hold 733,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.” The completed stage will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to power the future moon mission and other potential journeys that venture further into space.
