NASA’s Ambitious Artemis Mission Fueled by Rockets Built in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS — It’s been almost 50 years since the last human being visited the moon, but that’s about to change. After years of preparation and testing, the first of NASA’s “Artemis” missions is set to launch on Aug. 29 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Artemis I will be an unmanned flight around the moon and serve as a test for Artemis II, III and IV, which will carry people to and from the moon — including putting the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface. And to get there, NASA is using what’s known as a Space Launch System, a complex system of rockets that are assembled at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans East. 

The ultimate goal of the Artemis program is to build a permanent presence on the moon by establishing Gateway, essentially a spaceport orbiting the moon that will serve as a multi-purpose outpost and allow astronauts to travel back and forth from Earth more easily. Eventually — within the next decade or so, NASA hopes — Gateway will serve as a staging point for deep space exploration, including the first trips to Mars.

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The Michoud facility, along with the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, are all part of a “Gulf Coast space corridor,” where rockets are built, tested and launched into space. And because every rocket used by NASA is assembled at the Michoud facility, it’s not hyperbole to say that the road to Mars starts in New Orleans East.

The rocket engine used on the SLS, called the “RS-25,” is the same engine that was used on the space shuttle missions — literally. Built by Aerojet Rocketdyne, the four engines powering the Artemis I core stage (the giant, orange-red cylinder that makes up the main body of the rocket) were all once used by space shuttles. One of them, “Engine 2045,” was used on 12 space flights, including the John Glenn flight in 1988 and the final shuttle mission in 2011. NASA says they’re “battle-tested and reliable,” which is something you want if you’re going to send people into outer space.

“The most complicated system on this whole rocket, including the crew capsule, are the engines,” said Mike McDaniel, general manager of Aerojet Rocketdyne at Stennis Space Center. “So to reduce risk, use something that you know works.” 

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Through a process called “adaptation,” technicians at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi converted the engines for use by the SLS, adding 40,000 pounds of thrust and new technology that can take thousands of readings per second, making them safer and more efficient. 

After the engines are repurposed at Stennis, they’re shipped to the Michoud facility and attached to the giant core stage rocket. Through a series of man-made canals that connect to natural waterways like the Pearl River, the rockets are loaded onto a giant, specially-designed barge called the “Pegasus” and shipped from the Michoud facility in New Orleans East to the Stennis Space Center for testing. Then they go back onto the barge and sail to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where they will be rolled out onto the launchpad — loaded with fuel, supplies and, eventually, people — and launched into space.

That’s exactly what is happening with the first Artemis mission. In March 2021, the core stage was successfully tested at Stennis in what’s called a “Green Run” (a full-duration firing of the engines designed to simulate a launch). The four RS-25 engines produced more than 1.6 million pounds of thrust, using more than 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as fuel. 

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NASA B-2 Test Stand Director Ryan Roberts said the eight-minute test felt like an eternity. 

“There were a lot of mixed emotions,” he said. “Watching this thing fire, I’m like, ‘This is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. This is the most incredible thing I’ve been a part of. But dang I’m glad it’s over.’”

The Green Run was the culmination of years of preparation and hundreds of people working thousands of hours, with countless setbacks and curveballs, including a global pandemic and the most active hurricane season in history. In fact, Stennis had to shut down and clear the testing site seven times in 2020 because of storm threats. 

Teams of scientists, engineers, welders and others from Stennis, Boeing, Rocketdyne, the Michoud facility and NASA sites from across the country worked tirelessly to prepare for the test launch. They were singularly focused on the mission — Roberts even had to drive to the test site four times on Christmas Day to check on things. But, through it all, they never forgot why they were doing it. 

“It’s truly historic to be a part of this, and we never lost sight of that,” Roberts said. 

On Aug. 16, the SLS rocket for the Artemis I launch was rolled out onto the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center. Right now, the final preparations are being made ahead of the scheduled August 29 launch. McKibben said he wouldn’t miss it for the world. 

“I’ll be at the Cape (Canaveral) to see it launch,” he said, “and there will be some tears shed, there’s no doubt.”

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