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Core rocket for upcoming Artemis III mission arrives at Kennedy Space Center

The 212-foot core stage will be integrated with the engine section and tested as NASA prepares for a crewed Artemis III mission in 2027.

  • On Monday, April 27, 2026, NASA's Artemis III core stage arrived at the Kennedy Space Center aboard the Pegasus barge, completing a 900-mile journey from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
  • This hardware represents the top 80% of the Space Launch System rocket, and Boeing built the 212-foot-tall section to house liquid hydrogen and oxygen tanks holding more than 733,000 gallons of propellant.
  • Teams will transport the core stage to the Vehicle Assembly Building today, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, where engineers will stack the engine section, solid rocket boosters, and Orion spacecraft for final assembly.
  • Unlike previous lunar missions, Artemis III will remain in near-Earth orbit to test docking operations with SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon landers before attempting lunar surface landing.
  • NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman restructured the Artemis program to "buy down risk" before lunar landings, targeting a sustainable launch cadence with Artemis IV aiming for early 2028 to return humans to the moon.
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Spectrum News broke the news in United States on Monday, April 27, 2026.
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